Taking the next step
Hi All,
I've been following David's LOA programme since 2022 and all is going well but I am more than keen to link with other musicians. My social circle includes one musician - a guitarist who lives 1 hour's drive from me and so it is a bit impractical to link up with him regularly. I've also advertised in a local music shop but so far, nothing.
One guitarist at an open mic suggested that I could play some blues during the parts of a song where he isn't singing but I wouldn't know where to start. I suppose I am on that threshold between practising at home and performing in public. A kind of no-man's land .
How have other players made that shift from solo practice to performance?
Thanks,
Mark.
Mark:
Great advice from SOTB. It sounds as if you've already scoped out a local open mic. What is the general style of the performers there? E.g., singer-songwriter types, folks who play current pop hits, Broadway and Great American Songbook tunes?
E.g., re the guitarist who made the suggestion: Does he play and sing blues standards? If so, so long as you know what key he's singing and playing in; what the structure is (e.g., 12-bar, 16-bar, 8-bar); what position you want to play in; and are careful not to step on his vocals or any melodic guitar solo, you should be good to go with any blues tune he does. If you're just starting out, practice at home holding your harp using a vocal mic in a stand to be sure you're comfortable with playing into a mic without banging into it.
But if the folks you want to play with aren't doing blues, you'll want to be careful. E.g., depending on the style of the song, blues licks may not work. E.g., to go into something like Jimmy Webb's "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" with a blues solo would sound just weird. If they're doing pop songs, listen to the recordings of those songs and see what fits. I find that if asked to sit in with doo-wop, pop, folk, or even early jazz standards, the safest thing to do is play in first position, just using the notes in the major scale for that song's key. If you have nice tone, folks will love it. Find either the songs folks at the open mic are playing and singing, or that sound like the songs they're playing and singing, and experiment playing along at home.
Re your musician friend at the open mic saying to just play "when he isn't singing" that's his way of saying "don't step on me." For starters, I find it handy to ask a vocalist "would you like me to play fills," before actually doing it. Some vocalists don't like it; some love it; and some are inexperienced and don't know what I'm talking about. But listen to great blues artists who play fills to get a feeling for when a fill works. (Some songs have lyrics that run together so there's no space for a fill.)
And a good soloist or band leader should be able to signal to you when he or she wants you to take a solo. So be sure you're always looking at the leader; understand how to play pickups that'll get you into your solo, and what the chord and rhythmic structure is so that you know when it's time to lay out. (I've been on the stage at blues jams where a lesser-experienced instrumentalist starts a great solo over 12 bars, plays through 24 bars, and then keeps playing for three more bars and stops, and looks at the rest of us with a sort of "where am I" look.)
Finally, if you haven't already, go through all six of David's Performance Training studies here on the site. A bunch of great musicians will lead you through nearly everything you need to know for public performance. And even though they're all blues-oriented, their advice and tips apply to every style of music you might imagine.
Oh ... and finally: Stage fright? Forget about it. I've never been to an open mic or jam where anyone showed up looking forward to giving a performer a bad time, or hoping one would fail. Everyone at the open mic, whether on stage or in the audience, is there to support you, no matter what.
Have fun ... and report back!
Ukulele Rob plays Hohner™ harmonicas customized by Kinya Pollard, The Harpsmith™
I went to Blues Jams and Bluegrass Jams.
Why? Because good blues and bluegrass jams use standards that you can learn at home.
Learn the chord structures of a few standards and rehearse the solos and you're in!
At the jams you learn band etiquette, dynamics, signals and how to interact with other musicians in a live setting.