Playing the saxophone Please share your first open mic stories!

[Mix O Lydian]

Now that the weather has got better I want to start venturing out of my music room and play with others. I am going to start scoping out local open mics. I have no experience of this, at all so I don't know what to expect. I have played with others in workshop settings and one performance after a jazz workshop where the audience were friends and family, and one other short performance with a group from the workshops at a residential home. Both of these were low pressure situations though - I was with other people or in a learning environment, in front of an appreciative audience.

The thought of walking into a pub with my sax and playing with a random band in front of complete strangers, terrifies me. But how will I get experience if I don't do it? Should I wait and play in a few more forgiving situations first, or should I jump right in?

I'd love some advice or to hear your first open mic experiences.

 

[BUMNOTE]

Sorry cannot help but wish you luck,it is something I have wanted to do,but not confident enough.

 

[turf3]

Oddly enough I had been playing professional gigs for about five years before I did my first open mike. A friend of mine was wanting to start up a band and he invited me to join him (I was on sax, he was on guitar) to play through some tunes just to see, I guess, whether he wanted to pursue it.

So we went on down at Poor David's pub a couple of weeks for one or two tunes, and then he started actually building a band. Because of limited and somewhat weird instrumentation, I basically played bass lines on tenor and then he comped for my tenor solos.

I think that may have been my last open mike till some 30 years or so later when a bluegrass (ish) start up group I was in did a couple rounds at a coffeehouse in Arlington Mass. I was playing bass on that one. The venue had their open mike really well organized, especially as to PA and such, which had not been so much the case 30 years prior.

Do public jam sessions at a bar or restaurant count as open mike? They seem like something a bit different to me, since there's a defined band leader and style, whereas "open mike" to me implies more that pretty much any style is OK if it can fit the venue.

 

[wakyct]

I think of open mikes and jams as different kinds of events (for an open mike I would think you need some kind of prepared material, at a jam someone is calling tunes) but I guess terms may vary -- I would say for either jump right in but of course you don't have to play at the first one you go to. Check it out some evening without any intention of playing and just get a feel for what's happening, the people and the skill level.

 

[Zasterz]

Both of these were low pressure situations though - I was with other people or in a learning environment, in front of an appreciative audience.

In my opinion, you can approach an open mic as though it’s this same type of situation. People are there to learn, often to try something new, and are generally supportive.

 

[Mix O Lydian]

In my opinion, you can approach an open mic as though it’s this same type of situation. People are there to learn, often to try something new, and are generally supportive.

This is a very good way of looking at it.

 

[skeller047]

If it’s a regular thing (I just returned home from a once-weekly jam I usually go to - what else do I have to do on Monday night?), I recommend going and NOT playing once or twice to get a feel for how it operates. For example, in this jam I went to tonight, when you sit in, the leader may well ask you to call a tune.

The other thing to do is don’t be shy. Introduce yourself to the house band members, and the other sitter-inners. I’ve made some great friends at jams.

BUT - the best advice I can give you is this. JUST DO IT! The payoff will be immense; you will learn how to manage fear/nerves, you will shine a bright light on what you need to work on, you will learn what works for you when performing - and you will have a blast!

 

[Pete Thomas]

I recommend going and NOT playing once or twice to get a feel for how it operates.

I also recommend this approach. Let them know you are interested and that you have never done it before. Ask them for advice. That way you get to know them and whether or not they are open, friendly and helpful.

My advice would definitely be to pick a tune that you know really well so you don’t need to relay on reading it.

 

[Mix O Lydian]

In my opinion, you can approach an open mic as though it’s this same type of situation. People are there to learn, often to try something new, and are generally supportive.

This is a good way of looking at it.

I also recommend this approach. Let them know you are interested and that you have never done it before. Ask them for advice. That way you get to know them and whether or not they are open, friendly and helpful.

My advice would definitely be to pick a tune that you know really well so you don’t need to relay on reading it.

Thank you. I'm building a little repertoire of songs in my head. I thought I'd bring my sax when I go on my scoping visits but leave it in the car (if it's safe), just in case the vibe was right and I could sit in.

 

[Mix O Lydian]

BUT - the best advice I can give you is this. JUST DO IT! The payoff will be immense; you will learn how to manage fear/nerves, you will shine a bright light on what you need to work on, you will learn what works for you when performing - and you will have a blast!

Yeah. I've put a limit of no more than 3 visits to the same place then I will ask to sit in.

 

[thomsax]

I used to have Rocksax meetings in the woodshed. We played, used backing tracks, diffent types of songs that fit in what we consideded to be rocksax. We were just 3-5 sax players. We played solo, backing the player who played solo, riffs, licks, fillings ...... . I think this was a good way to prepare ourselves for the jam-open mic ..... . We learned to interact.

The thought of walking into a pub with my sax and playing with a random band in front of complete strangers, terrifies me.

That's why I took the ferry to Copenhagen.

 

[LostCircuits]

Not my first open mic or jam and not even one of those but there is a somewhat raunchy biker bar around the corner, ok, in the middle of the forest. I am good friends with the owners and stumbled in a few weeks ago when they started to try karaoke.

It was a low turn out night - weather related - but the owner asked me if I could just come back next time and bring my horn.

It was actually last night that I went back, I had the saxello and the tenor in the car and since that place has almost no signal or WiFi I took a USB stick with some backing tracks. It was a bit scary getting up there and playing "dry" but I pulled off a somewhat credible version of "Over the Rainbow" and "Ave Maria" (saxello) and later "The Nearness of You" (tenor). Definitely 3 songs that had never been played in that place.

When the ambient noise stops while you are playing ...

 

[Mix O Lydian]

It was actually last night that I went back, I had the saxello and the tenor in the car and since that place has almost no signal or WiFi I took a USB stick with some backing tracks. It was a bit scary getting up there and playing "dry" but I pulled off a somewhat credible version of "Over the Rainbow" and "Ave Maria" (saxello) and later "The Nearness of You" (tenor). Definitely 3 songs that had never been played in that place.

When the ambient noise stops while you are playing ...

Well done you! Yeah, that expectant quiet 🙈 I can't imagine whether it's worse when they are not paying attention to you, or worse when they are!

 

[LostCircuits]

Well done you! Yeah, that expectant quiet 🙈 I can't imagine whether it's worse when they are not paying attention to you, or worse when they are!

You nailed it! And of course the low B (saxello) started making funny noises, intermittently, but that was me getting a bit the jitters.

 

[turf3]

It's funny, whenever I roll up to some kind of jam session I feel a certain nervousness, not "stage fright" but rather "what if I can't hang?" It's kind of funny because I've always been able to hang adequately. Now grant you, I'm not showing up for jam sessions at the Village Vanguard or Smalls and hopping on the stage with Christian McBride and Kamasi Washington. I'm not STUPID.

 

[LostCircuits]

It's easy to be thrown off. It can be anything from another musician who can't hold time (probably the worst) to somebody in the audience doing something stupid that may not even be related to you.

 

[skeller047]

It's easy to be thrown off. It can be anything from another musician who can't hold time (probably the worst) to somebody in the audience doing something stupid that may not even be related to you.

Yeah, time can be a drag. In the jam last night, the trombone player and I discussed whether there was a magnetic anomaly under the floor of the joint that always drags the tempo of a swing tune down to about 140 bpm. Doesn't matter where it's counted off, that's what it will get to in the first couple of choruses. This is with the sitting in bassists and drummers of course...

I actually tried in one tune to get the drummer to start pushing (he was the one most affected by the tendency to drag), so I turned toward him and played simple rhythms for 8 bars, rushing, to try to get him to speed up, but it didn't work. Oh well....

 

[peedeeblues]

Just do it! Might study Circle of 5ths to get familiar with keys. Carry a copy in your saxophone case.

 

[mpjbiker]

Be aware that they will call out keys in concert pitch, and it will be up to you to transpose. Also, if you choose a song and a key, make sure you tell them the concert key, not the sax key! Practice your blues and pentatonics-they will help you loads on all sorts of songs.

 

[Taz]

I've found out, over the years, that there are many different versions of jams and open mics. Jazz jams sometimes involve sheet music and sitting round in circles (I don't participate in them as I don't read music and jazz just doesn't float my boat)
Then there are those where someone plays a well known tune in whatever genre and others are welcome to join in. This is my favourite kind. These can be the most exciting events that you will ever attend! The energy in the room can be electrifying!
Open mics tend to be where people arrive, put their name on "the list" and then wait their turn. You get to play two or three prepared tunes to an appreciative audience. Some times, depending on numbers, you may get a second run round. One thing that annoys me at these is when people turn up, play and then leave without supporting the other musicians. On some occasions, these can end in a great jam at the end where everyone joins in.

Most importantly, they are a brilliant way to encourage you to use your ears and ability to improvise on the spot! It's a great way to meet other, like minded individuals and have the most fun possible!

My own story can be found here Playing the saxophone - How to Blag it as a Saxophone Player