![]() When you go to the session see if you can play one or two of your favourite licks in every solo you play, or maybe a new chord voicing you can fit in here and there. Also, it is a good idea to learn how to solo over those sections of the song that solos occur, practice the strum patterns of those songs and any other nuances that you might need to know. What are the 50 most popular songs of the genre you play in? Get a list of them and learn as many of those songs as you can starting with the most popular and easiest ones, then working up to the more difficult ones. If you can accomplish a few things then you have grown musically. When you are at the jam session then see if you can accomplish some of the things you have been practising. When at the jam if anything surprises you then make a note of it to work on in the future – there will be some of these at every jam session. In fact, anything you think might come up at the jam is a good thing to work on. Also, best to spend some time each day working with a metronome as nobody likes playing with anyone who can’t keep good time. It would also pay to brush up on those open chords, strumming patterns, blues progressions (most jams at this level start with a blues progression), and those songs that a lot of people in your genre of music like to jam on. Also, it is great to have good people there who will help and encourage you to improve your abilities and help take you further with your music. There will be people who are a bit more advanced than you and people with less experience but don’t let that bother you. If you are in the beginning stages of development it would pay to try to find people to jam with that are around your level of experience. What do you need to do to get jamming with your friends? Playing with other people helps you: Build your confidence, learn how to communicate with other musicians, discover what you need to work on, and most of all HAVE FUN! While some jam sessions are private affairs, there is nothing like getting up on stage in any situation and jamming/playing for an audience. Change those guitar strings, give the guitar a polish, check all your cables are in good working order, maybe turn that amplifier on and see if it is working as it should, etc. ![]() The better prepared you are the easier and smoother things will go when you get with your musical friends. If you have jammed before but haven’t done it in a while – plan for your next jam now. If you wait until you are “ready” and you have perfected all the musical concepts known to humans, you will NEVER do it. If you can play a few chords, strum even the simplest song, and get good time, you can find a jam where you can get up and play. The best advice I could give any guitarist is to go to a jam session or jam night and play with people! But what if you say you are not ready, you can’t do it, etc., well I say now is the best time to get yourself ready so you can do it. ![]() That is why jams sessions are so important to your musical growth and mental health – small groups of musicians getting together to improve their abilities and have some fun doing it. And when we do come out of lockdown it will most probably be in small steps so large gatherings won’t be allowed. You will never have a better time to prepare than you have now. However, the best time to get prepared for the lockdown to finish is right now. ![]() As of this writing, we are in the middle of the Covid-19 virus situation and everything is locked down, so why would I write something like “get out and jam”? Well, this lockdown is not going to last forever but going to large concerts or pub gigs might last longer than we might have hoped for.
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