Musical Ettiquette 2:Guitar vs. voice

Subject: RE: Musical Ettiquette 2:Guitar vs. voice
From: JedMarum
Date: 27 Sep 99 - 04:36 PM

Jon - I wondered if someone might not pick me up on my use of the word adult! I agree, I have seen youngsters at sessions act more like adults than some of the adults. I guess I was using the figure of speech version of adults, implying caring, considerate, polite, respectful - and many of those mature qualities we hope define our adult nature!

Subject: RE: Musical Ettiquette 2:Guitar vs. voice
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 27 Sep 99 - 05:03 PM

It's the "noodlers" that drive me nutzoid. I sing in a normally loud environment (Jeri knows what I mean! -- oh yeah, and WHO I mean.) I've semi solved the problem by knowing what note I start an a capella piece on and have my husband (sitting next to me at the table) give me the note on the concertina. Once I start, the people who noodle constantly between songs *usually* stop playing. It helps that my husband is session boss. Sometimes it's so loud, though, that I can't hear the note even though I'm right next to him.

Linn

Subject: RE: Musical Ettiquette 2:Guitar vs. voice
From: Jack (Who is called Jack)
Date: 27 Sep 99 - 06:23 PM

One thing I know about people who go to folk oriented group music events is that most of the time they do so because they have a tremendous desire to sing a particular kind of music a particular way. Its almost a compulsion or a need. The intensity of that drive is what fosters a lot of the behavior were describing. These circles are seen by some as their only chance to do something they really want to do. Unfortunately this area of music is so eclectic that ten different people can have ten different agendas for the session, and are unaware that there are 9 others out there.

Also, a lot of people who like this music have a personality trait that I know I share. The 'I don't care much what other people think of me' trait. Its why I spent my high school years buying albums of this obscure art form while others in my class were listening to Boston and Journey. In most cases this isn't a disregard for others, but rather the position that you should do what you want until you hear that its bothering someone. This position puts the burden on the other person to "Take responsibility for expressing their feelings when they want change". Again the view is not that 'What others think doesn't matter" its that if others want me to adapt to what they want, they have to 1) let me know, and 2) convince me that they are asking something reasonable. Life's too short to spend guessing about what others want of me.

Of course if you put this attitude in the same room with ten different experiential agenda's and no formal rules in place, you get what everybody's complaining about in this thread.

Subject: RE: Musical Ettiquette 2:Guitar vs. voice
From: Frank Hamilton
Date: 27 Sep 99 - 06:52 PM

There are damn few places where people can learn to play music in an ensemble. Rule of thumb, if you are going to accompany someone, make that person look good. If you can help improve their performance, you might ask permission to accompany them. Unaccompanied ballads can be accompanied by being aware of the rhythm or tempo or rubato supplied by the singer. If there is not a tempo or rhythm in the vocal, rubato chords can sometimes enhance a song if you know that song in advance.

Musical sensitivity is an acquired characteristic. It takes training and discipline. A good accompanist is a good musical editor. (Knows the notes to leave out.)

There is something to be said for the group dynamic. I find that if I'm in a group that is not sensitive to the dynamics or the vibes in the room, I won't participate. I'll listen. I tend not to like situations that are highly structured by a group leader. I like the kind of environment whereby someone can say "that song reminds me of another song". Bottom line. No ettiquette, sensitivity to the room "vibe" than it's a lost cause unless you do a singaround where everyone accompanies themselves. Then, to me that's not a jam session but a mini-concert which is cool too.

Frank Hamilton

Subject: RE: Musical Ettiquette 2:Guitar vs. voice
From: bseed(charleskratz)
Date: 27 Sep 99 - 08:51 PM

Easy Rider, in my experience song sessions are like hurricanes: in the northern hemisphere they rotate clockwise. I can't speak for those who live on the bottom half of the world: they may need to go counter-clockwise just to screw themselves to the planet, so they won't drop off.

I regularly attend four sessions: Monday nights are practice times for the Once-Born Gospel Singers (aka The Poodle-ears). The only thing that goes clockwise there are the instrumental breaks. Charlie usually directs the practice, but other people suggest songs from time to time, or bring xerox copies of new ones. We tend to practice a set/gig list of about a dozen songs--adding to or subtracting from the list as we feel a need, or as we discover that one of the songs just introduced or revived sounds good enough to add in place of something which didn't go over in our last gig or of which we are just growing tired.

On Thursday nights, when I don't go to hear the SOBs at Quinn's Lighthouse, I go to a bluegrass/folk jam at the Fifth String. The circle usually includes half a dozen to a dozen players, and song choice goes around the circle clockwise. Each person in turn chooses a song, plays the first break and decides the nature of breaks--whether verse, chorus, verse/chorus, AABB, or just a turnaround. All players who want to take breaks, again going clockwise, and the chooser takes the last break (the chooser also decides when the breaks will be if it's a song, whether there will be just one break between verses or more. The players' abilities vary greatly, usually including some professional level players. I have never heard anyone talking during a performance.

On Sunday nights I go to The Starry Plough, an Irish pub. A circle of musicians, many of them wonderful, plays jigs and reels and hornpipes--all instrumental. Every 45 minutes or so, the circle takes a break and a leader calls on people who have indicated they would like to solo. While people talk during the instrumental session, every one is wonderfully quiet during the solos. Yesterday was the San Francisco Sea Fest (or whatever it's called) and many of the musicians who had performed there came to the Plough and did solos (a wonderful quality of performances last night--as there almost always is). I was the last soloist of the evening and I made a bad song choice--the song isn't bad: it was "Free Grace," a spiritual from the Georgia Sea Island Singers. It was a bad choice because with my group I never lead it: I sing bass, with a somewhat different rhythmic pattern than the rest of the singers, and last night was my first attempt to sing lead on the song, and I was occasionally blowing the rhythm of the chorus (on which the bass part comes in early). But the audience was still great, they sang along on the choruse no matter how much I confused them, and gave me warm applause.

The last is the monthly Berkeley Fiddlin' and Pickin' potlucks--here, forty or fifty musicians break up into a variety of groups, most of which follow the clockwise direction, although I once sat in an RUS session in which one woman chose half the songs and another woman chose most of the rest--for the first woman to lead (the BPF&P RUS circles are not always like that). And even here, in all the different groups I've played and sang with, everyone was always polite and always followed the unspoken session rules.

But then I haven't played in that many bars...

--seed

Subject: RE: Musical Ettiquette 2:Guitar vs. voice
From: alison
Date: 28 Sep 99 - 05:00 AM

Basic rule...if you join in with someone else whether it be on guitar, instrument or harmonising... you should still be able to hear the person performing.... if you can't YOU are too loud.

slainte

alison