Blues jam in Bm

Ok, here is part 2. This is me jamming to a blues jam track in Bm. This was a revelation to me because I decided to record myself jamming over the track to see what would happen. I didn't think much of it until I played it back...and I thought "I just did that!!". It goes to show you how important it is to be able to listen to yourself playing from a recording - you get a totally different perspective.

Now, there are a few glaring clangers in there. I'm not used to playing in Bm, so I hit a few bad spots there. All things considered, I thought it came out pretty good. So, please ignore those if you can.

This was totally free form and I decided not to edit out that bad parts. In my opinion, you can hear that I'm feeling things out in the beginning and things flesh out more in the last half of the track.

For those that care, this is my American Standard strat on the neck pickup played into the "US blues" amp simulation in my Zoom G5 pedal with some reverb added.

What do you think? Is this any good?

Here's the link:
https://app.box.com/s/kfesf6m4se73auvdhzee

Very nice!
Doug

Thanks Doug!!! That means a lot to me coming from you - your improvisational style is amazing!

Thanks for listening.

Awesome recording man!
It inspires the hell out of me! Ive been playing for 2 years now and are on my second year on GT. Bought my Les Paul 10 months ago and I really wana do a simular recording, but I just dont think Im there yet.

But your recording is really cool! I would love to have it on mp3 so I can have it on my phone.

Cheers mate

Hey! Nice job Rich!!

Originally Posted by: maggiorIt goes to show you how important it is to be able to listen to yourself playing from a recording - you get a totally different perspective.
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I totally agree! Its one of the things I love about my BOSS JS10... if things are clicking I can just hit record... just one button, and everything is immediately recorded. I also use it to try out chord progressions that I think might sound good to solo over. I record just the guitar, (no backing track) and then play it back and see if it works for soloing. Definitely a nice feature, and you're quite right, being able to step and listen to yourself really gives you a whole different perspective on your playing.

[QUOTE=maggior]
Now, there are a few glaring clangers in there. I'm not used to playing in Bm, so I hit a few bad spots there. All things considered, I thought it came out pretty good. So, please ignore those if you can.

You did have few little spots, but it doesn't matter since you're aware of them. I think its great that you posted flaws and all... I really wish more of the active forum members would post stuff so we could see how we're all doing... helps motivate everyone to work harder.

I really like those (oh god, I hope I have this right) triplet runs you're doing... I'd like to incorporate some of that into my own playing.

Any chance of posting the MP3? Thanks again for sharing! PS, never mind about the MP3, I found it!

Really nice! An inspiration for those of hoping to do some blues soloing some day.

Originally Posted by: Slipin LizardHey! Nice job Rich!!

I totally agree! Its one of the things I love about my BOSS JS10... if things are clicking I can just hit record... just one button, and everything is immediately recorded. I also use it to try out chord progressions that I think might sound good to solo over. I record just the guitar, (no backing track) and then play it back and see if it works for soloing. Definitely a nice feature, and you're quite right, being able to step and listen to yourself really gives you a whole different perspective on your playing.

I can't agree more. I have the JS-8, not the 10. There are some things that the 10 has that I wish the 8 had. but I bought my JS-8 about 5 minutes before Boss released the JS-10 and the concept is the same.

Recording oneself, while depressing, certainly gives one a new perspective on your playing. You can hear mistakes that you might not catch otherwise. For me recently it is some chords not ringing as clearly as I thought.

Plus, I have found playing with some backing tracks is just forcing me to get better.

Nice Jam! It actually managed to inspire me to go grab my guitar and try playing some Blues-Jammin'. Well, a mix of your Jam and some old-school Aerosmith-songs from the 70's... Went pretty well, too, until I started to try recording my own playing.

Your Jam is definitely one of the most inspiring ones I've ever heard.

Sounds good & like you were having fun. Victory!

Wow, thanks everybody for the feedback!! I'm glad I could inspire some of you. Many of you have inspired me in other ways, so I'm glad I could give a little back.

Yes Chris S., it was fun and quite a victory for me. It was even more fun to listen to afterwards :-). I honestly didn't know I had this in me. It's great to do something like this to enjoy the skills I've developed rather than focus on those I'm still struggling with.

Mataonanjin, you make a good point in that it can be depressing...but not always - you'll find sometimes that things are working better than you might think. The key I found is to slow down. You don't have to play fast and you don't have to fill every single measure with notes. Sometimes, it's important what you don't play to give the song room to breathe.

Nothing I did in this recording was technically difficult - no fancy technique, no fancy scales, no clever selection of notes over chords. This is no "Cliffs of Dover" or "Satch Boogie". As guitarists, I think we get so focused on technique and stuff that we forget that it's a form of expression and you don't have to set out to melt everybody's face off with a wicked rippin' riff to impress people. Though it would be cool to be able to do that one day...

@Svanholm - I'm humbled that you want a copy of the track to listen to on your iPod!!! When you go to the link to "preview" it, you should be able to download it. Feel free!

@Slipin - There may be some triplet runs in there. When I would practice the pentatonic shapes, one way I would do it was in triplets up an down. I always thought that had a good sound. Since that is so embedded in my brain, I probably have a lot in there. They weren't consciously put in there. And yeah, I know where the clangers are, no worries there :-). I wasn't playing it safe in a single spot on the neck, so it was in some of those position changes that things went a bit awry - mainly hitting the next position a fret too high or low. Along with the clangers though were some phrases I'm not sure how I played them or where they came from. So sometimes you just gotta push the envelope and see what happens.

@Kasperow - I'm so glad you found this inspiring. Your posts of your progress and working with bands have been inspiring to me, so back atchya!! :-). I got a tab and "play along" CD with some old Aerosmith songs. Joe Perry is a great player and I especially like his stuff from the 70's. Looking at the tab, it may be a tough go, but we'll see. "Same old Song and Dance" and "Walk this Way" are on my list of what I really want to learn out of that book. The solo from "Dream On" would be a good one to add to my arsenal too. Which songs are you working on?


For anyone that is interested, I got the backing track here:
http://www.guitarbackingtrack.com/play/jamtracks/blues_bm.htm

There's a bunch more that I'll have to check out. It's a lot of fun using these. I'll have to try out a more rockin' one and see where that goes - crank up the gain and let 'er rip :-).

Again, thanks so much for the feedback!

Originally Posted by: maggior@Kasperow - I'm so glad you found this inspiring. Your posts of your progress and working with bands have been inspiring to me, so back atchya!! :-). I got a tab and "play along" CD with some old Aerosmith songs. Joe Perry is a great player and I especially like his stuff from the 70's. Looking at the tab, it may be a tough go, but we'll see. "Same old Song and Dance" and "Walk this Way" are on my list of what I really want to learn out of that book. The solo from "Dream On" would be a good one to add to my arsenal too. Which songs are you working on?

I'm trying to learn a few different covers, actually. The ones I'm trying to learn, or have on my list, by Aerosmith are "Dream On", "Train Kept A' Rollin'", "Cryin'" and "Living On The Edge". Generally, though, I intend to learn to play a handful of covers, not enough to be in a cover band, but enough to be able to select a few great covers for jamming with a band when I find the people. I've never tried those books with tabs and a play-along CD, though. I usually just borrow the tab-books from the library and take a copy for my own use. Are those Play-Along CDs just like the jam-tracks in the lessons here or am I mistaken?

I'm actually tempted to try recording the Blues-jam I came up with last night. The problem is that I couldn't keep the rhythm for more than one or two play-throughs of the 12-Bar Pattern I was playing, once I started recording. Kept hitting bad notes and open strings. The rest of it did sound good, however, so I think I'll record it anyway and see what happens. It wasn't very original either, but that's less important as long as it mostly sounded good.

Originally Posted by: KasperowI'm trying to learn a few different covers, actually. The ones I'm trying to learn, or have on my list, by Aerosmith are "Dream On", "Train Kept A' Rollin'", "Cryin'" and "Living On The Edge". Generally, though, I intend to learn to play a handful of covers, not enough to be in a cover band, but enough to be able to select a few great covers for jamming with a band when I find the people. I've never tried those books with tabs and a play-along CD, though. I usually just borrow the tab-books from the library and take a copy for my own use. Are those Play-Along CDs just like the jam-tracks in the lessons here or am I mistaken?
[/QUOTE]
Yep, the play along CDs are just like the tracks here where they leave out the guitar parts. Also like here, they include a full performance. The performances are covers, so it's not the original band, but they are done well. They also include slow down software where you can slow it down without changing pitch by 50%. On one of the CDs, the software was easy to use, the other two it was just horrible to use. I'm looking into getting Transcribe! which has been recommneded here.

Train kept ' rollin' is a great song. You can certainly jam one that 'til the cows come home.

[QUOTE=Kasperow]
I'm actually tempted to try recording the Blues-jam I came up with last night. The problem is that I couldn't keep the rhythm for more than one or two play-throughs of the 12-Bar Pattern I was playing, once I started recording. Kept hitting bad notes and open strings. The rest of it did sound good, however, so I think I'll record it anyway and see what happens. It wasn't very original either, but that's less important as long as it mostly sounded good.

Awesome! Once you feel comfortable with it, I (and I'm sure a lot of others here) would love to hear it. What's good is not only do you know what you need to work on and but you know *what is working and sounds good*. Keep the recording and go back to it a month from now, 6 months from now, etc. and you'll hear just how far you've progressed.

Originally Posted by: maggior
Mataonanjin, you make a good point in that it can be depressing...but not always - you'll find sometimes that things are working better than you might think. The key I found is to slow down. You don't have to play fast and you don't have to fill every single measure with notes. Sometimes, it's important what you don't play to give the song room to breathe.

Rich, my post was, of course, a little bit facetious. Depressing, yes, because when you play it back you do here the mistakes. But, that is positive in that you know what to work on.

I am working on a course called "Blues You Can Use" along with Guitar Tricks. (I am actually working several courses concurrently.) I recorded the the first lesson along with a backing track provided. Very simple little 12 bar blues progression. But GAWD what fun!!! It was more fun than sex (as nearly as I can recall.)

It was certainly the most fun I've had since starting this guitar journey! I've got that stupid, simple little 1 minute song going through my head non-stop now!!! lol

Originally Posted by: matonanjinRich, my post was, of course, a little bit facetious. Depressing, yes, because when you play it back you do here the mistakes. But, that is positive in that you know what to work on.

I am working on a course called "Blues You Can Use" along with Guitar Tricks. (I am actually working several courses concurrently.) I recorded the the first lesson along with a backing track provided. Very simple little 12 bar blues progression. But GAWD what fun!!! It was more fun than sex (as nearly as I can recall.)

It was certainly the most fun I've had since starting this guitar journey! I've got that stupid, simple little 1 minute song going through my head non-stop now!!! lol

OK, gotchya.

It is a load of fun. I can relate because this recording I made last Friday night is the most fun I've had with my guitar in a long time!! The only thing more fun is playing with other musicians - but doing this came much closer than I thought it would.

Originally Posted by: maggiorTrain kept ' rollin' is a great song. You can certainly jam one that 'til the cows come home.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, it's one of those songs like ZZ Top's "La Grange". The rhythm is so catchy and up-beat that it's almost impossible to stand still while it's being played.

[QUOTE=maggior]Awesome! Once you feel comfortable with it, I (and I'm sure a lot of others here) would love to hear it. What's good is not only do you know what you need to work on and but you know *what is working and sounds good*. Keep the recording and go back to it a month from now, 6 months from now, etc. and you'll hear just how far you've progressed.

Yeah, I'm definitely going to try again tonight. Of course, since I'm not completely comfortable with playing while recording (or being watched, for that matter), I should probably use the guitar I feel most comfortable with using. That way, at least I won't have to worry about whether my Tone sounds like it did last night :)

If it goes well, I'll post the recording here. With some luck, I might just be able to find a 12-Bar Blues Backing Track in Ab, which is the key I jammed in last night (that is, I played a rhythm in Ab, but it lacked both drums and bass). It should be possible to find a good one of those to Jam over:)

ADD:
Turns out it is, in fact, possible to find 12-Bar Blues Backing Tracks in the key I want! I think I'll try jamming along to one of those tonight... With my phone hidden on a table right next to my amp with its recorder turned on so I can record it and hear how things go and share the results. Well, let's hope for the best and expect the worst. That way I can only be surprised, not disappointed.

Originally Posted by: Kasperow
Yeah, I'm definitely going to try again tonight. Of course, since I'm not completely comfortable with playing while recording (or being watched, for that matter), I should probably use the guitar I feel most comfortable with using. That way, at least I won't have to worry about whether my Tone sounds like it did last night :)

If it goes well, I'll post the recording here. With some luck, I might just be able to find a 12-Bar Blues Backing Track in Ab, which is the key I jammed in last night (that is, I played a rhythm in Ab, but it lacked both drums and bass). It should be possible to find a good one of those to Jam over:)

I know what you mean about not being comfortable while recording. With what you are using, can you loop the backing track? What you could do is play over it a few times while it's recording. Eventually you'll get comfortable and and forget that you are recording. LIke anything else, the more you do it, to more you'll be comfortable with it.

Ab (G#) is an odd key - is there a particular reason you chose that key?

Looking forward to hearing what you come up with!!

Originally Posted by: maggiorI know what you mean about not being comfortable while recording. With what you are using, can you loop the backing track? What you could do is play over it a few times while it's recording. Eventually you'll get comfortable and and forget that you are recording. LIke anything else, the more you do it, to more you'll be comfortable with it.

Ab (G#) is an odd key - is there a particular reason you chose that key?

Looking forward to hearing what you come up with!!

Actually, yes, there is a reason I have chosen Ab. My Les Paul, AKA the guitar I feel most comfortable playing, is tuned for Guns N' Roses (half-step down on all strings), and I'm most used to jamming or playing 12-Bar Blues in A or Ab, since that's the easiest key for me to play that kind of jamming in (using open A5, A6, D5, D6, E5 and E6 Chords in various combinations). And I generally prefer to play with all strings tuned down a half-step, because the reduced tension makes bends and vibrato a bit easier for me. In short, I chose this key because I think it's most convenient for me.

That makes sense. I didn't realize GnR tended to tune down a half step. SRV deteuned to Eb because he used heavy gage strings (13 as I recall). Aerosmith detuned sometimes too I think to get a heavier sound.

Just saw your addition to your previous post. Glad you managed to find a backing track in the key you wanted! I'm surprised actually because I thought that would be problematic.

You've got a good plan - hide the recorder and keep the expectations low!!!

Here's hoping your resulting recording provides a pleasant surprise.

Okay, so this didn't work out very well :(

Some technical issues with the sound caused the Phone to not hear the backing track at all. it picked up my guitar just fine, but I spent too much time trying to make it work. I'm going to try again tomorrow, using my headset and my computer instead. There's the advantage to the headset that I can just put each of the speakers on each side of the amp (one on the front, one on the back) and place the Mic so it is less than a centimeter from the amp's speaker. If this doesn't work either, well, I'll just have to find another solution, using the stuff I have access to... I should have a bit more time tomorrow.

Bummer.

I tried doing something similar using my Tascam recorder. I could never get a good balance between the backing track and the guitar even when using a camera stand to position it in the middle of the room. That's why I gave up on that and went with a multitrack recording solution.

That sounds complicated, but it not as much as you would think. You don't need a multitrack sound card, you need a soundcard that will support full duplex which means you can hear what's being recorded in real time. Your PC may even support this right now. I use Adobe Audition 3, which can be had for free now from Adobe. There is also Reaper which is pretty cheap and Audacity which is free.

Only problem with this is it assumes you can download the backing track to incorporate it as a track in your software. The backing tracks for the song lessons on guitar tricks can't be downloaded, so you end up having to look elsewhere.

Good luck with your second go at it tomorrow.

Originally Posted by: maggiorBummer.

I tried doing something similar using my Tascam recorder. I could never get a good balance between the backing track and the guitar even when using a camera stand to position it in the middle of the room. That's why I gave up on that and went with a multitrack recording solution.

That sounds complicated, but it not as much as you would think. You don't need a multitrack sound card, you need a soundcard that will support full duplex which means you can hear what's being recorded in real time. Your PC may even support this right now. I use Adobe Audition 3, which can be had for free now from Adobe. There is also Reaper which is pretty cheap and Audacity which is free.

Only problem with this is it assumes you can download the backing track to incorporate it as a track in your software. The backing tracks for the song lessons on guitar tricks can't be downloaded, so you end up having to look elsewhere.

Good luck with your second go at it tomorrow.

I've tried Audacity before, and honestly, I wasn't too pleased with it. I simply found it too bothersome to use. I've never heard of Adobe Audition, but I have lots of great experiences with Adobe's software, so I think I'll try that out. I'm pretty sure there was a Download Link where I found the backing track, so it shouldn't be that big a problem. If nothing else, I can have the computer play the backing track so I can hear it, and have the Mic record my own playing only and then adjust the volumes accordingly afterwards. How hard can it be?