playing on own or with people

[roger <roger@brecon.co.uk>]

Hi there

I have played and written material on my own and with other bands. I 
go to a regular jam session on a Saturday night that you do know one 
or two people that turn up regularly but any one can and does.  But 
is limited in that a set format of so as to easily accomodate all  
flavours.

This is a totally different experience to looping on one own. To play 
successfully you have to have musicians who are in tune with one 
another in timings and playing skills. I have found that it takes a 
bit of time to develop a relationship and a musical one is no 
different from any other type of relationship.

I used to play in a duo where we ended up knowing exactly where we 
were going to within free form jam sessions or we could easily turn 
several songs together with linking sections on the fly. Great 
experience when it comes together but this does take time.

We also used to jam along to tapes which I recorded on travelling 
from one place to another edit and then just jam along. Quite an 
interesting experience as the live music sometimes dominates and 
sometimes the tape would.

I tend to prefer to play on my own as I can control where and what I 
am playing and when. I can also here myself which can be a great advantage.

Just my thoughts

roger parker