How was your open mic or jam night last night?

[rwillett]

7 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

To me, jamming along to a song you've never heard before is as good as it gets.

 

It was hard at first TBH, the guitarist borrowed my Strat and proceeded to blaze up and down the neck like a man possessed. He loved the Strat and I just looked on and inwardly sighed as he was 100x better than myself. I blame the fact that my fingers all point in different directions, please do not mention Tommy Iommi and his lack of finger ends, it doesn't help me here .

 

Once we got the rhythm sorted out, it did start to click. I started running up the dusty end of the bass and then realised the bloke on the mixer had basically cut off anything above D on a filter on the mixer, so had to move down again. I wasn't really sure what it sounded like at all. Everybody was very nice but we were also very nice to the lady who was strangling and disembowelling a cat earlier in the evening. For next time, I'll try and have the Basschat 8" speaker with me, and politely drop that in the corner. 

 

Anyway, early days, the fact that the lady got away singing with a voice like that gave me hope my bass playing wasn't too bad.

 

Rob 

[Phil Starr]

12 hours ago, rwillett said:

was talked into doing an open mic session at the Craven Heifer in Stainforth on Thursday. I tend to dislike these things as I rarely know the songs

 

12 hours ago, Rosie C said:

pick a song from a book the organisers  provide for everyone to play together. 

 

8 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

To me, jamming along to a song you've never heard before is as good as it gets.

It's a confidence thing, I've rarely jammed along to anything and I hate being out of control. I've not got a great ear either. Playing something I've never heard before without even a chord chart sounds to me about as embarrassing as appearing naked in public

 

I used to run an open mic night/jam session and was looking to build up the idea of a 'great song book' which as an organser would have helped me to get as many people as possible on stage and performing. I always liked the idea of getting sole musicians/young musicians the chance of performing with other musicians and was gradually building up a house band to support this. Sadly the pub relaunched as a gastropub just as we really got going. 

Edited 2 hours ago by Phil Starr

[rwillett]

40 minutes ago, Phil Starr said:

It's a confidence thing, I've rarely jammed along to anything and I hate being out of control. I've not got a great ear either. Playing something I've never heard before without even a chord chart sounds to me about as embarrassing as appearing naked in public

As an ex-rugby player, appearing naked in public is actually far, far less embarrassing than playing something I've never heard before. Far too many pictures to proof it as well, and it's got to the stage, that Zoe, my long suffering partner, simply sighs when yet another old picture surfaces.

 

I also have a crap ear for hearing and am in awe of people who can listen to a tune and work out the chords as they go. I can't do that and suspect I never will. I'm doing a song writing course in Kendal and the lady who teaches it can listen to a piece of music and then just play it on the guitar immediately afterwards, and play it very, very well. I sit and watch her and wish I had as much talent as she has in her little finger. I have to repeatedly work at learning a song, its hard work. 

 

I do like the idea of a common song book though. Never thought of that. I would have a songbook of stuff I know and then other people can use it  Admittedly its going to be a thin songbook at the start but it is a start.

Rob

[paul_5]

I can do that stuff most of the time, but look dreadful naked. Swings and roundabouts Rob.

[Rosie C]

54 minutes ago, rwillett said:

I also have a crap ear for hearing and am in awe of people who can listen to a tune and work out the chords as they go. I can't do that and suspect I never will. I'm doing a song writing course in Kendal and the lady who teaches it can listen to a piece of music and then just play it on the guitar immediately afterwards, and play it very, very well.

 

I have a friend who is similar - I played him a song I'd written - so it was the first time he'd heard it and he was playing along by the third line. A tremendous gift. After nearly 50 years of playing from dots I've been trying to play by ear for two years now and it is just starting to come... early days I guess!  

 

[rwillett]

23 minutes ago, paul_5 said:

I can do that stuff most of the time, but look dreadful naked. Swings and roundabouts Rob.

 

I didn't say I looked good naked, merely it wasn't that unusual some many years ago  Alcohol and rugby may have been involved

 

Rob