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At a jam you hear things like this:
1. "Nice tune.. keep workin' on it.".... which cryptically means .. "you sounded like crap''.
2. "Keep bringing that tune to the jam and we'll learn it eventually"..which cryptically means.. "We will not work on it at home and will keep playing it poorly along with you until we Do 'sort of' learn it."
3. Your turn.
"Let's play that tune that you know."
quote:
Originally posted by groundhogpeggy"Let's play that tune that you know."
GOOD one!!!
Shouldn't that tune be in Bb?
"That's really something."
Where did you get that version?
I took up the banjo 10 years ago. After two years of "playing", I went to my first jam which was a slow jam for beginner's . One of the participants (a guitar player) said to me, "you don't own a metronome, do you Bob?" It didn't bother me as I thought it was a very kind way to say, "your timing stinks" and so I worked on my timing. He still goes to that jam and sings the same 5 or 6 songs, year after year, off key and with "marginal" timing. On the other hand, I get to play my banjo with some of the best old time musicians in a wide area and I can play with them pretty much note for note so I guess my timing got better.
And here's a side note: just because someone knows less than you do, doesn't mean you can't learn something important from them. Likewise, even though someone says something rudely, they may be speaking the truth.
quote:
Originally posted by EarwormAnd here's a side note: just because someone knows less than you do, doesn't mean you can't learn something important from them. Likewise, even though someone says something rudely, they may be speaking the truth.
Sometimes I find myself being very Frank with people but I do try to say things with a smile.. You are right..Everyone can do something well..
“Can you move over a couple spots? Having another fiddle next to me makes it harder to hear the guitars.”
Heard this one at a jam a few years ago. It was clear to me that the person who said it wanted the other player to be far away because he couldn’t play and was throwing things off.
“Let’s make a little more room between us so we can play more easily” means roughly the same thing.
A couple favorites, though:
“Are you self-taught?”
“Did you just take up the fiddle?”
quote:
Originally posted by The Violin Beautiful“Can you move over a couple spots? Having another fiddle next to me makes it harder to hear the guitars.”
When I used to play banjo with the old slow jam group in town, we had the local jam buster who has now contaminated all music venues in the area with his guitar and singing except for the strictly old time group that I play banjo with. He consider's himself to be the best musician and singer in a wide area. He can sing fairly well (better than me, for sure), but that's not saying anything. His guitar playing features (dart board timing) and the darts are flung at a rapid pace during one tune to determine the timing of the next 4 or 5 measures. Even the good musician's are puzzled on occasion and just quit playing.
When we played inside and his turn came around, I got up and excused myself to (go to the bathroom). It got to the point that I'm pretty sure the group was about to take up a collection for the upcoming "surgery" needed for my bladder problem.
Someone asked me if I was OK. I just said that I drank a lot of water. My fiddle buddy asked me about my "problem" much later and I said, "have you never noticed that it always happens when J.G.'s turn comes around to play?" He got a funny look on his face and burst out laughing and nodded his head in a knowing manner.
Later on, when we used to play at the old band shell in the park in the summer, this guy would always arrive late (and make a grand entrance) and, if I hadn't planned well on my sitting location, he would put his chair right down next to me. I just got up and moved. That got a lot of odd looks from the crowd but they knew what was going on. He finally asked about why I moved and I said something about his guitar drove my hearing aids nuts. I try to be kind
After your bluegrass break someone says "I really like what you're tryin' to do there"
quote:
Originally posted by PegheadAfter your bluegrass break someone says "I really like what you're tryin' to do there"
I suppose that that is better than, "What exactly Are you tryin' to do there???"
I play with recordings and "Strum Machine". The only fiddle tune local jammers are aware of is "Orange Blossom Special" - and none of them know how to play it. Same thing happens with 5 string banjo and fiddle tunes on guitar.
I have "Band in a Box" but recently started using "Strum Machine". "Strum Machine" more closely resembles music played at jams. Played better than local jams and there is a much larger repertoire of tunes with just guitar, mandolin, and bass.
One of the many problems I find with OBS is that there is always a guitar-player who does know how to play it - that is, they have learned a specific accompaniment from some certain recording, and it does not occur to them that there may be any other way of playing it. So, for example, if you like to start off slow (I do) and build up the tempo, they will lay down an up-tempo rhythm before you even raise your bow - and then fail to notice that you're trying to pick up the tempo later, or, eventually, that you're trying to bring the train wreck to a merciful end .... All the other problems have to do with the fact that I don't play it very well to start with, and don't want to work on it ... !
quote:
Originally posted by Old ScratchOne of the many problems I find with OBS is that there is always a guitar-player who does know how to play it - that is, they have learned a specific accompaniment from some certain recording, and it does not occur to them that there may be any other way of playing it. So, for example, if you like to start off slow (I do) and build up the tempo, they will lay down an up-tempo rhythm before you even raise your bow - and then fail to notice that you're trying to pick up the tempo later, or, eventually, that you're trying to bring the train wreck to a merciful end .... All the other problems have to do with the fact that I don't play it very well to start with, and don't want to work on it ... !
In those cases , if you have a playing agenda, it may help to give a 'heads up'... Never works for me but it might for you!
The local hot-shot picker, that's played with everyone you've never heard of, ends every tune but his with shave and a haircut. Like everyone else's turn is a trite waste of time. Cute is once or twice. Continuously for weeks is like nails on a chalkboard.
It was always annoying to me when people at jams go around " correcting" the others. It ain't a school. It's a buncha amateurs getting together to have somebody to play some tunes with. If you're a great player, fine, you can expect greatness from your band mates, but at the jam you're with amateurs trying to have fun. I never saw this I'm-here-to-teach-y'all attitude until we moved up here where they have these organized jams...we used to just enjoy spending time together and having fun back home...and believe me, it was way more fun...lol.
It depends on the jam/members.. From what I've seen, Organized regular jams seem to have different rules than impromptu get togethers.. People who play together over time come to expect certain things from their jam, . or the jam falls apart and people drop out.. I did that in a local jam..too many musicians who don't know how to listen to others. At another jam one person often corrects the guitar players but it is done tastefully..An an impromptu jam pretty much anything goes normally.. This reminds me of what happens at festivals.. First night everybody plays with everybody.. second night some people break of to play with each other and third night, cliques of like minded musicians are gathering.
We have one young man who comes to our weekly jam and he Wants instruction!! So, there is no rule..Jams are like people---no two alike..
I agree Lee. A jam with perfect strangers is a great thing! Seems like everyone is on their best behavior. Secondly, where all members repertoire converge, is the set of tunes they can play. Sometimes they are simple tunes, and there's nothing wrong with that. I've seen the simplest of tunes bring tears of joy.
"So how long have you fellars been playin together?"
"Oh, about eleven minutes."
This kind of goes with other post about latest pet peeve playing loud on tune don't know.
Surprised no one mentioned cryptic comment along the lines of...
"wow that is one loud fiddle (or banjo/guitar/mando)!"
"That instrument certainly puts out a lot of projection and/or volume!"
"You certainly get a lot of volume out of that instrument!", or "you will never be drowned out"
Compliment? Or critique of playing too loud?
Seems banjo players always take it as compliment, quite pleased smile.
Edited by - alaskafiddler on 05/27/2022 17:10:40
quote:
Originally posted by farmerjonesI agree Lee. A jam with perfect strangers is a great thing! Seems like everyone is on their best behavior. Secondly, where all members repertoire converge, is the set of tunes they can play. Sometimes they are simple tunes, and there's nothing wrong with that. I've seen the simplest of tunes bring tears of joy.
"So how long have you fellars been playin together?"
"Oh, about eleven minutes."
Actually, that happens often at festivals.. A group will be playing and spectators wills applaud and ask how long we've played together.. Often, the True answer might be , "We just met a little while ago and starting jamming."...
There are also cryptic tacit body language.
One last night was a bit of noticeable, seem exaggerated foot stomp... was it for himself, just excited... or trying to convey everyone where beat is? (his was not quite in time with the group, so?).
Sometimes folks use a bit of exaggerated motion with neck of instrument, to indicate others missing chord change, or certain beat emphasis? or not?
Others cryptic involve facial "looks"... maybe stare, squint, grimace, frown, smirk? Maybe mean something, or something else, or nothing?
----
Over years, I find I like more directness. If have something want to say to others, just say it. Others comments, ask for clarity if need be, mostly try not to read minds, or more into it.
Ohhh...the Look. I got that once, from lead banjo player.
It was more like...a Glare.
It was very effective!
(And he can keep on picking while doing it...
so it's musically efficient, too!)
I like Peggy's philosophy of jamming...
the perfect jam, to me, is where people are nice and easygoing, creative (not stuck on playing things a certain way every time), responsive to eachother and aware of "whole sound" of group.
Edited by - NCnotes on 05/28/2022 10:59:31
A couple of experiences...
At a festival, we had been furious playing and decided it was time to take a break. As we were walking to a food truck for a refreshment, my friend asked me what I had been working on. I muttered something. I asked my friend, he said "I've really been focusing on intonation and timing." His body language suggested that I should work on this too.
Another time, we were playing away and a guy walks up with a stool and a saw. He proceeded to make a nuisance of himself. One tune on saw is ok as a novelty. More than that is problematic. Well, the jam circle just slowly migrated. This guy soon found himself further and further from the "core" and eventually he was perched alone outside of the circle. He then picked up his stool and sat down in the center of the circle. The circle kept migrating and he kept picking up his stool and followed. This continued for well over an hour when many of us quit for a needed break.
Ooh Kirk, you said the "S" word.
I'd almost gotten over them. Now the veins in my neck are popping out just thinking about, , ,it.
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