Tonefiend Forum

Thanks dasein, you have definitely thought through this from a jazz artist's perspective, and I always enjoy hearing your take on these things. I was thinking about a weekly jam session that I co-host when I wrote the initial post. I traditionally accompany all of the artists, unless they are covered in that regard. Generally, the music ranges from blues, country, r'n'b/soul, reggae, a bit of classic rock once in a while, lots of original singer/songwritery stuff and the odd standard. I fake my way through all of it, and even come up with the "right" part once in a while. Usually I'm an accompanist to the singer and the soloist so I have to let them back me however they feel the music should be going.
And I too love the surprises: drop/add a bar? Don't scare me. Never heard the song before, you can't explain it, have no chart and are not entirely sure what the key is? (Not at all unusual.) No problem, count it off. There's an interesting shift towards intuition when you can't rely on knowledge, and nothing tests your ears like flying blind.
And dead on target with the courtesy/gig smarts comment. Knowing what your fellow players want takes a lot of the guesswork out of playing and leaves more room for enjoying the moment and really hearing their contributions.

Quote from Oinkus on September 3, 2012, 04:24
How many times do you actually have to play without meeting or talking , just cold nothing beforehand ? It makes that conversation a magical event of discovery and learning.Playing on the local college party rotation used to be insane , everyone knows you play and you just have to step in grab whatever is handed to you and find your niche.

Going to a bluegrass festival armed with a handful of standards is pretty much the same thing. If you don't know the melody then watch the guitar player for chords and fit into the background. Bluegrass is so repetitive that you may have figured the tune out after a few times through or at least have some of them stuck in your head. Some tunes are strange though, the first 8 bars is completely nondescript and the second 8 bars is the catchiest thing you ever heard. "Bill Cheatham" falls into this category for me.

Playing the melody straight is not frowned on. And you will probably meet some octagenarian banjo player that will drink and pick you into the dirt until 5 AM.

Quote from Digital Larry on September 3, 2012, 10:29

Quote from dasein on September 2, 2012, 19:28
Personally, I like for a rhythm section to surprise me.

I did play with a rock covers group many years ago that never got to actually having a gig (at least not while I was there) and the drummer would change the beat every time through the verse. I don't think it was done purposefully to move the song forward. It was just because he got bored playing the other beat and wanted to do something new. It was really unsettling (as the bass player).

Recently I played with a very skilled drummer who hadn't picked up his sticks in a few months and he definitely had something to get off his mind before he was able to settle down to a comfortable groove for more than a minute or two at a time. Didn't help that he is a Rush fan! 😯

My favourite gaffe from drummers is when they feel the need to change from ride cymbal to hi-hats in the middle of a chorus apropos to nothing.
There should be a recovery program for drummers who started while obsessed with Neil Peart; I know this problem well, as it describes my brother to a T. On the up side, twenty-something years later, he's starting to come around. I've worked with some bassists who have the same problem, constantly changing it up for no reason at all, almost determined not to let anything groove.
Guitarists who are indecisive tend to spend their whole night stealing whatever part they hear clearest around them, ie. mine.