Getting Ready for a Jam: Accompaniment

Hello David,

Not quite sure if this question applies to people on this site, but it may in some general ways (getting ready for a jam and accompaniment). I'm ready as I can for tomorrow's student concert, but it's the jam on Sunday I'm more concerned about.

I plan to get there early to sign up for and play with the first band. I tried to focus on accompaniment this week, but it's very slow going. I put a cheat sheet together with all the legal notes for each chord in the blues progression (circling the roots), but clearly it will take time for these to become natural for me. I started trying to play along with muddy waters, sometime without LW and sometimes with on a track.

I don't know what songs they'll play (did ask the leader, but he doesn't know yet either). Maybe I can listen to their opening set, and then pick one and just ask them to replay that, so I can accompany. Maybe take a chorus.

I'm not really ready for that (understatement), but how else will I get started? (I remember approaching my driving test that way. I failed as I expected, but I found out exactly what I was missing. Took one lesson and passed the test next time around.) This is more complicated. Will be more than one lesson.

I want to be able to do more than play instrumentals. Although that's very valuable, but the end goal seems more to be able to accompany and take choruses. So not sure how to use the great opportunity we have this Sunday.

Do you have any ideas?

Thanks,

Annamarie