How to Not Suck at Jazz Jam Sessions and Gigs
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- Опубликовано: 19 июн 2024
- Ever wondered if you're "ready" to go play at a jazz jam session or start playing jazz gigs? Or maybe you've been doing these but feel uncomfortable socially or even with your playing.
In this video, I give out my 4 top tips for not "sucking" at a jazz jam or gig. These have little to nothing to do with your actual talent, which is the best part.
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My favorite jazz jam experience till the day I die: My son got a nice scholarship to go to music school in Chicago. He turned 21 when he was a senior (which is this year). I went with him to his first drinking bar; a high level jam. We didn't know what song would be called. To my delight, it was Sunny Side of the Street, which is excellent for trombone. They did it in a bop, up tempo style. I loved it because I remember him practicing it when he was in 7th grade with a Hal Leonard play along. He can go to any jam and do quite well. Jazz has been good to my son.
As an older musician trying to figure this Jazz thing for the last year, I'm very lucky to have a jam here in Columbus that welcomes newer players. Everyone is super cool and helpful.
We had quite a few out of town pros drop in last night so it was pretty intimidating, but I just went up, took my turn to solo(which was very simple by comparison to others), and just enjoyed the surroundings and did my best. Learning Jazz is a marathon, not a sprint, and thankfully the folks that go to/run the jazz jam assist with that long race, judgement free.
That's great Nathaniel! You definitely have the right attitude.
Where do you play in Columbus? I'd love to find a spot I could come try my chops at. I've never been to a jam sesh but I'd love to
Yeah same here. People are very inviting, sometimes they are quite happy because if there is a guitar player in the house band and not many other guitar players they are happy to just have a beer for a few min.
I am a late-in-life starter. I am lucky to live in a city that has a jam for learners. The band leaders are very kind and talented teachers. A couple of weeks ago I played for the first time, and made a lot of mistakes. But it was fun and I plan to go again soon. I think your suggestions make a lot of sense.
That's awesome Kevin! Really glad you have a supportive musical community to be a part of
I know what holds me back is a lack of Repertoire. I understand the language but have not learned enough songs and I don't want to have to get up there and wing it..
The more records you've listened to, the more you can get through this sort of thing. You may not have the melody under your fingers, but you've heard it before, and you can probably at least follow along in a Real Book. If Real Books are verboten, the session is probably one where the same tunes are called each week. Make a "set list" for yourself, then pick one new song to learn for the next session.
Good ideas! And Thank You for defining what is a jam session. A gig is a performance, a jam session is a music session for the musicians, to try stuff out etc.
I have played the tenor sax for 2,5 years (but have a long musical background). I played for the first time with a big band last year. Mostly easy stuff like C jam blues, Satin Doll and things like that. Some semi-professional players but no "vibing". Good thing about big bands and swing is that your solo can be pretty short. :) I often record myself and prepare by practicing a few easy, common songs for weeks before the session. Thanks for the tips!
That's great Henry!
Great video! I learned how it's important to know that it's not about how I play but it's rather for others to feel good.
Very solid tips, couldn't agree much more! Well said!
Thanks!
I have all the fears as everyone else here. Plus I'm not sure how to even find jam sessions in my area? I am a hobbyist.
Lastly, this is just great advice not only for jam sessions but for all your relationships in life, especially work, business, and family!! Imagine how much better life would be if we approached it this way. Thanks...
Hi Anthony, glad you feel the topic can apply elsewhere too! I think a search on Google "jazz jam in (insert city)" will usually get you there. If you live in a more rural area, that's where you might have a harder time
You really hit it on the nail with these four recommendations! Bravísimo...
Thanks Alexander!
I can't count the times when I've come to a session and everybody looks tense and miserable. As if having fun was not allowed in jazz. I think for a host it should be very important to establish a welcoming, uplifting and fun environment. Everybody will sound so much better. Maybe musicians will even listen to each other and enjoy what the other person just played. Wait, that would be silly wouldn't it? Jazz has to be serious business after all! Like a funeral.
Ah that's too bad!
The jazz jam that I go to is full of laughs, and lovely welcoming people who encourage everyone to come up, even people who don’t play instruments...maybe find a better crowd of people dude!! :-)
Thank you!
Great lesson, thanks.
Glad to help!
Thanks for your nice tips! It really makes me feel more confident about my decisions on jamming or not jamming. Sometimes the band is not serving the music and stand at the stage to call a standard is not easy and, many times, not welcome. I frequently hear musicians saying 'oh, no. Please do not call 'blue bossa' or Stella!'. This kind of behavior really make us uncomfortable. I was wondering if I only could jam playing Chick Corea's Capuccino or some B-side Mingus theme. Apparently, standards are a solid and productive way to get into playing in a group, with other people. Thanks for sharing your point of view. It is really inspiring! Cheers from Brazil!
Happy to help!
Very helpful video! Thanks Brent. The advice about recording yourself is great advice. The mistake I usually make is deleting the recording immediately after the first listen because I think it is so bad! I have found that no matter how bad I think I played if I save the recording and go back to it later it’s really not as bad as I originally thought. I am my own worst critic and that would be the answer to your question of what keeps me from going to open jam nights......I am my own worst critic.
Glad you found it helpful! Absolutely, we are always our own worst critic
Hey, what scares me the most is the level of entry. It feels like I'd have to play the song exactly like the sheet music. No cut corners, all of the embellishments.
Another fear is that the patrons of such clubs that have decades of experience would look down on performers simplifying things and making mistakes.
Seeing prodigies playing great at 14 also discourages. Being 23 and somewhat passable at best is quite demoralising.
Great video, these tips are really useful!
You gotta just go for it or you'll always make excuses ya know. It's about getting better and playing is the best way to do it. It can be intimidating for sure, but if you demonstrate a willingness to learn and keep improving your craft to learn you'll see yourself improving. Best of luck to you don't get discouraged let other musicians be an inspiration to yourself not and obstacle.
@@Blankishish Cheers!
Don't get the illusion that everybody does exactly hear everything and knows exactly what you're doing. Even the so called pros don't hear everything. You will always make mistakes, the question is how you handle that. You need to learn to work with it. Play a fucked up phrase twice to make it sound intentional etc. but never stop grooving what ever wrong notes you play. Every wrong note is basically part of an altered dominant to the chord that is currently played (V7 or bII7). So all can be explained to the theory adepts.
And the patrons usually don't care as long you try to serve the music. Remember Wes Montgomery started very late and he reinvented the guitar. Don't worry, play!
Everything you're feeling is legitimate, but I would challenge you to think: who cares what other people think? It's unfortunate if the jam and gig opportunities you have are inhospitable to those trying to learn, but at the end of the day, it's only about you trying to improve. You got this!
Great advice Carlitos!
You are great. Thanks for the important rules especially for the rule 2.
Thank you. Glad it was helpful!
Thank you, Brent!
You're welcome!
Although I'm in a college town, there really isn't an outlet for newer jazz players like myself (being older doesn't make matters better). I've performed countless times classically for years, but I'm scared ****less to play jazz live. I don't want to be the cause of the band not being good. I'm going to try and join my university's jazz band in the fall, though, to help.
Improvising is a vulnerable thing Julius! Sounds like you're asking the questions, and at the end of the day, when you feel ready, I hope you'll take the leap!
Sounds like you or someone there could start a jam session, if the market has none, I mean..? :) Maybe if you helped organize that, you'd feel more relaxed playing at said jam session? Just a thought
You're doing everything right. Join the college band, network, take lessons with local teachers. Connect with people who can tell you where is the right jam for you. And probably join you on that nerve-wracking first tune :)
Great tips, another thing I would suggest is come in with an open mindset. You are going to be critiqued and you have to be prepared to not take it as an attack rather as people trying to help you.
Great Video (on point), I did not the served music first once and experience that look and was yell at by another player "Don't play when I'am playing"...almost got into a fist fight over it . But, you live and learn and play on.
This is the perfect video at the perfect time for me as a fellow jazz guitarist. I'm mostly concerned about my site reading inability and worried I might lose my place more easily playing with live musicians (as opposed to a backing track). I could probably cut it if I ask that we play certain songs I already have down, but I don't want to be that assertive. I will take your advice and just check out my local jazz jam first to gauge the scene.
Glad this was helpful! I would suggest not site reading music on gigs or jam sessions if it's just jazz standards. Put them to memory and that will help a lot!
Very good tips
Thanks!
I do what my sax player said I should. Go up and say "I'm a noob and don't know all the standards", that works quite well lol.
Hi Brent . Really good advices, good job. Could you make a video about how to deal with complex drums solos during jam sessions ? Do you have any exercise to keep in the structure and don't be lost ?
Many thanks.
Hey Nicolas, great question! I can certainly do a video, but in the meantime, we have a blog post about that on our website: www.learnjazzstandards.com/blog/learning-jazz/jazz-advice/4-tips-for-not-getting-lost-during-a-drum-solo-for-non-drummers/
What has been stopping me was, there hasn't been any jazz jams sessions where Im from since now. The first one is comming up in a few weeks, and that is why Im reseaching jazz jam etiquette. I have been to plenty of jams, but never a jazz jam
It seems like I haven't done my homework enough all the time, I always find really good excuses not to play like oh I'm studying classical and right now I don't work as much as I would like but it's like half true half lie
Great advice, all of it.
I'd add that some jam sessions are really open and welcoming to anyone with the right attitude. Others (and there's not necessarily anything wrong with this) are more like a club where most of the players go to the same music college or whatever and they may not be quite as open as they might first appear. This is just one reason why you need to go along and listen at least once. If you get to know a few people, they'll tell you whether this is the right place for you to play or not. A friend of mine had to warn me off standing up to play at a session where I would have been completely roasted. Nobody would have shouted at me (well......??) but neither I nor the band would have had a good time. It's not that the session is unfriendly, it's just that most of the players go to the local music school and kind of like to show off their chops to each other and, as somewhat of a beginner, I would not have fitted in.
For what it's worth, when Soweto Kinch crashed the local jam, it was the more open one and not the "college" session. So it's open at both ends of the ability spectrum :)
Guy in his 50s. And I have no chops! That is what that is holding me back.
Good to be aware! But also realize you probably need less chops than you think.
Great advices, really beautiful. But since you ask us about what holds us back, I would say that I really can't figure out how all these scales derive from the music chords, it doesn't make sense to me…
Hey Zeca, in my opinion, thinking scales over chords can be very limiting anyways. Not that chord/scale theory is bad, but I would encourage you to think more along the lines of chord tones. Try taking a standard that you know well and just play the chord tones (R-3-5-7) as your note choices. This is a better starting point!
@@Learnjazzstandards Well, that seems to be a nice and clever advice! Thanks, I'll do it. Btw, once I read somewhere that Miles Davis said to a fellow musician to "avoid the sweet notes" (or "spots") when improvising. Do you possibly know the quote and what he meant with it?
Theres this jam night i go to. And wether i pick any instrument and if i start first. The rest all follow.
But theres a problem when they start and i have to follow. Yes i do drop the ego because i want this session to sound good but its like i dont know what to look for. I started looking for the key theyre playing at but it keeps switching.
haha 7 years ago? dude, how old are you? you look like youre 20! and please take this as a compliment, because thats how its meant! youre a good looking guy in new york thats playing jazz guitar...keep living my dream lol
A whole 9 years off, I'm 29, but I do take it as a compliment! It means I'm aging well.
Hello! well I'm from Buenos Aires and for me it sucks a lot thath there are brilliant musicians... who just can't wrap a solo in less than 7 choirs, each one, and then they have infinite trades so every song ends up lasting 20 minutes or more. It feels like it's a competition all the time and it bums me out. Once I went to a jam and stood there for 2 hours waiting for a free spot, it never happened. Can someone experienced tell me, is this normal? Do I have to punch someone in the face the next time so I can get on the stage and sing?
I’m afraid to be the guy that brings his ego in, I’m afraid of expecting to be amazing but to suck miserably, that’s my problem. I’m afraid of not being able to be the person you described in the video and to either be bad or to be annoying to others :/
If you feel you need to increase your repertoire before going to a jam, check out the list of 50 Jazz Standards (on learnjazzstandards website). If you're comfortable with all of them, you're more than qualified!
i’ve been playing guitar for only 5months, idk why i’m watching this lol.
Standards? Yall don't just improvise in jam seshes?
Heh.
1.) DO NOT GO TO JAM SESSIONS! At least, don't go to public ones at the clubs where you get dissed spectacularly to an audience full of musicians who are broke and don't have gigs either.
2.) Know the bandleader and the kind of music they be playing. If possible, have the dude send over charts or at least tell you which tunes he/she will play on the gig. Don't play gig with cats you don't know and who play a repertoire you don't know. At least know the fucking tunes and have charts and shit when you are there. There are now realbook phone apps...
Do yourself a favor: know the people you are playing with. If you don't know them, you will get vibed out and lose confidence and the motherfucker who disses you will have a field day. BTW...be ready to fight with assholes who treat like shit. Seriously. You want a rep? Don't be a dick and don't let people dick you. This includes bouncers and club owners.
This is the real deal guys.
Prison sounds like a more welcoming environment than some of the jams I am hearing described.
Or listen to Ornette Coleman and get his "who gives a fuck" attitude and become famous.