Jam Techniques

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So in my band, we like to jam out at practice a lot and also at shows when the time is right. Its fun as hell to do, but it also helps us to know each other as musicians.

 

It usually feels that I lead the band in the jammin, like to different tempos, volumes, and beats. But, I guess the best jams and grooves that happen are ones that no one really leads into, they just happen. And at that moment it is beautiful and I never want it to end.

 

That being said, I've often wondered if anyone uses certain techniques to lead the jam in a certain direction. But hey if ya dont have any techniques to share, then how bout some awesome jammin experiences. Like I've heard of people having like all day jams, where the music never stops, the musicians just change around. I want to be involved in that man.

 

Peas out.

[joeq]

I once heard about a charity fundraising thing (in Pittsburgh I think) where the bands Jammed on "Hey Jude" for 12 hours or maybe it was 24. Personnel just came and went all day.

 

Can't vouch for how much of it was "awesome" however. Hey Jude for 24 hours. Maybe there is a charity in your area that you could organize something like that for.

 

I was in a band that did a lot of jamming on stage- one thing we would do was segue into other songs. As a drummer its pretty easy to lead a change into a different meter or tempo and then someone (usually the bass player) would 'hear' a new tune and go into it.

 

It really helps if the players know a LOT of tunes- cover band experience and so on- it gives them more to draw on. Our band was pretty good at remembering these segues and eventually they became almost like arrangements- except of course that they were constantly evolving.

 

People seeing us for the first time were amazed at how complex and fluid the transitions were. But we had already been there.

 

On stage we always made sure to keep the jams succinct - 10 minutes or so- and always return to the original tune for a big finish. If you go on too long people forget what the original song was.

[D_dup3]

Well, though GDead or Phish fans may not know it, the champs at extended jammin' are cats like the late Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Sun Ra's Arkestra & (a bit more recently) the PFunk mob (George Clinton, Bootsy, Bernie Worrell & all).

PFunk concerts were often multi-hour affairs wherein the music did not stop while the various players drifted on/off stage filling in for each other.

 

As far as techniques for jamming, that's basically the same things one brings to bear on playing in general: skill, experience, memory & knowledge of how the elements of music inter-relate (although that's all a bit redundant, eh?).

 

The main key is awareness of what someone else is doing & thinking of where that can go.