Saxophone beginners Going to jam session tomorrow night

[JSL]

They asked me to pick a song

I have a suggestion. Following up on my earlier suggestion to first attend as an audience member (especially considering you're a relative beginner) with a notebook to write down some of the tunes being played, pick a couple of those tunes &/or very well-known tunes likely to be known by the musicians, and go home and practice, learn, & memorize the heads of those tunes, and the chord progressions. If you feel comfortable with a blues, learn a tune like Tenor Madness, Sonnymoon for Two, Bags Groove, or any other very common jam blues tune. Then go back and when they ask you to pick a song, you'll be prepared to play it. Call it and the key it's in. Then, when they move on to tunes you don't know, go sit down.

Limit this to how ever many tunes (even if just one or two) you can really learn and memorize. Eventually you'll have several tunes under your belt.

 

[skeller047]

There is a reason the All The Things You Are, Blue Bossa and Recorda Me get called so often in jam sessions. That reason is that everybody knows them.

I concur with @JSL, learn a couple of simple tunes by heart and call one the next time you go to a jam. Maybe you could ask one of the house band members for some tune recommendations.

I applaud you, #hashtag #StandingO, @AlonW for going to these jams. It takes determination to do that. I always assume I’m going to suck badly at a jam session, I’ll have to stumble through a tune I don’t know, or I will lose the groove, or something. But I keep going anyway 🙂

I most emphatically do not applaud the person who said you were disrespectful. That’s just rude, and there is never any call for it. I think you have a good attitude toward it, but it’s still bad.

 

[AlonW]

There is a reason the All The Things You Are, Blue Bossa and Recorda Me get called so often in jam sessions. That reason is that everybody knows them.

I concur with @JSL, learn a couple of simple tunes by heart and call one the next time you go to a jam. Maybe you could ask one of the house band members for some tune recommendations.

I applaud you, #hashtag #StandingO, @AlonW for going to these jams. It takes determination to do that. I always assume I’m going to suck badly at a jam session, I’ll have to stumble through a tune I don’t know, or I will lose the groove, or something. But I keep going anyway 🙂

I most emphatically do not applaud the person who said you were disrespectful. That’s just rude, and there is never any call for it. I think you have a good attitude toward it, but it’s still bad.

I really can't play anything by heart. And I still don't know which tunes to pick to bring to the bandstand. I want to play slightly obscure tunes, but I don't trust the band will know the changes. So I think I'll just play So What? next time. Everyone knows those changes. It's just two chords. But I'll bring the sheet music anyway (!) because it is sometimes so disorienting to be in that situation, with so much going on at one time.

Thanks for sticking up for me. I think you have a good attitude towards people, not everyone can be that way. Sucking badly at a jam is how we face our fears. To keep going, is to not give up. I applaud you for caring about the music enough to do that. It also shows you care about yourself. You are patient, wise, and caring.

But I think the person who disrespected me is patient, wise, and caring too. I think he wants me to be better. I don't think anyone is rude. They are just who they are. It was his way of saying, he cares about the music, and he cares about me, and wants me to get better. That's it. So I'm seeing this as the perfect opportunity to improve. So next time, I will bring sheet music, have a song ready, and be patient with myself. This is my chance. Hopefully next time, it will go better. But whatever happens, I won't give up. I'll keep trying too. I have nothing to lose by showing up, and seeing what happens.

 

[Grumps]

Sucking badly at a jam is how we face our fears.

I was so full of myself as a kid I recall going into a jazz jam hosted by a Baltimore saxophonist and thinking I really laid it all down. The star of the night. Sitting with the guy later... and he was a really, really cool cat... he looks at me with a caring eye and just says, "You can't do this." I really needed to hear that. Mostly for the truth. But also for the inspiration.

 

[cappers]

I really can't play anything by heart.....

Maybe that thought ^^^ is stopping you!
I thought that too but the more I practise the same songs, the more they sink in.

You seem to have a large repertoire (ooh matron!) of songs you post daily.
My advice as another beginner (far more of one than you) would be to pick a couple of tunes that aren't too obscure or difficult and that you really like.
Practise them as many times a day as you can until you can play them correctly without thought.
Listen to classic recordings of them again and again, hum them, make them ear-worms, part of you. It takes time but repetition will make them sink in.
Eventually once they're locked in your head you won't need to rely on the dots. But take the dots or chord chart to the jam as a back up, I doubt anyone will mind.

Best wishes.

 

[PiccoloPirate]

Are there techniques/exercises that can help in memorizing music?

How did you learn the multiplication tables, or material to pass tests in school, like history, comparative anatomy, or keep track of the names of the many women you fall in love with? The latter is taught at the Naval Academy, in the "Ports of Call" class. 😜

 

[JSL]

I really can't play anything by heart. And I still don't know which tunes to pick to bring to the bandstand.

Do you know how to play a descending minor pentatonic scale? If so, you can play the head to "Sonnymoon for Two" (look it up). And it's a 12-bar blues. Pretty common & well-known tune, especially on a jam session. You just have to get the rhythm right, so give it a listen; best way to go is check out several versions on YouTube of any tune you want to learn. Get it solidly 'in your ear'.

I want to play slightly obscure tunes, but I don't trust the band will know the changes.

An obscure tune won't likely get you anywhere on a jam session, unless it's one that is commonly played at a given jam session. Again, find out what they are playing.

 

[cappers]

An obscure tune won't likely get you anywhere on a jam session, unless it's one that is commonly played at a given jam session.

If an obscure tune is commonly played at a jam it wouldn't be obscure? Asking for friend.......😉

 

[Targa]

How did you learn the multiplication tables, or material to pass tests in school, like history, comparative anatomy, or keep track of the names of the many women you fall in love with?

As far as I remember they were all called ‘Luv’, it wasn’t at school I learned comparative anatomy.

 

[JSL]

If an obscure tune is commonly played at a jam it wouldn't be obscure? Asking for friend.......😉

Good point and I basically agree. However, I have played one or two 'obscure' tunes at a blues/jazz jam that was mostly blues with vocals & funk, but included a fair number of jazz instrumentals. I put obscure in quotes because they weren't all that obscure for a jazz jam, but in the blues jam context they were. One of those tunes was "Stolen Moments". Maybe not so obscure at a jazz jam? But at this jam, it was. A guitar player used to show up who called that Oliver Nelson tune and I grew to really enjoy playing it.

But the point still stands, especially for someone showing up for the first (or second or third) time at a jam and calling a tune. Alon would do well to learn some commonly played tunes. Watermelon Man, Cantaloupe Island, Blue Bossa, Tenor Madness, Cold Duck Time, etc. And yeah, I've played all of those at a given 'blues jam', maybe not the typical blues jam. But I suspect they get called a fair amount at jazz jams.

 

[cappers]

@JSL Don't mind me, I was just being silly!

Nice choice above. Having played WM, TM, CDT, The Preacher and MrPC dozens of times at rehearsals I can pretty much do them without the dots now.
A year ago I wouldn't have believed that possible.
If I can do it then anyone can!
Repetition, repetition, repetition....

 

[JSL]

@JSL Don't mind me, I was just being silly!

No worries, cappers! I enjoyed your post, and in a funny way it totally made sense. Did you notice the laughing emoji I reacted with? Keep up the humor!

 

[Nick Wyver]

I’m really glad I decided I wasn’t going to do jam sessions any more.

 

[Ivan]

...at least I’m trying, right? I showed up, I played a song (or tried to) and I gave it my best shot...

Full marks

 

[Ivan]

I’m really glad I decided I wasn’t going to do jam sessions any more.

What put you off?

This sort of jazz jam session from the multiple descriptions here seems an exercise in musical intimidation

Can you expand on why you've stepped away?

 

[AlonW]

What put you off?

This sort of jazz jam session from the multiple descriptions here seems an exercise in musical intimidation

Can you expand on why you've stepped away?

I stopped playing altogether. I decided to focus on singing. Jam sessions were one of the main reasons I quit. I really felt intimated by every jam session. I am still intimated but I have found an important meaning in going, and that is facing my fears. I thought maybe I could sing better at jam sessions. Then I got Covid, and lost my voice. I guess you can't win, right? I'm glad I didn't give up, and came back to the sax. I thought I had lost my hearing and I figured a tenor would cut through my hearing loss and still wanted to be involved in music (also my voice was messed up) so I continued.

 

[skeller047]

@JSL Don't mind me, I was just being silly!

Nice choice above. Having played WM, TM, CDT, The Preacher and MrPC dozens of times at rehearsals I can pretty much do them without the dots now.
A year ago I wouldn't have believed that possible.
If I can do it then anyone can!
Repetition, repetition, repetition....

Repetition is mastery.

The best way to learn a tune by heart is to play it every time you pick up your horn. Once a day is enough, really. It might take me 30 days to learn a tune. Or 60, or 90. So what? (OK, I got that one in a week… )

 

[JSL]

Repetition is mastery.

The best way to learn a tune by heart is to play it every time you pick up your horn. Once a day is enough, really. It might take me 30 days to learn a tune. Or 60, or 90. So what? (OK, I got that one in a week… )

Very true. Another thing I do with a tune I'm learning, often while lying in bed awaiting sleep, is to 'sing' the tune in my mind, sometimes while tapping the beats if I think that's necessary (helps to get the phrasing in the right place and the rhythm accurate). I find this does help internalize the melody. However, it's also necessary to play it on the horn over & over until you don't get it wrong and to lock in the muscle memory. It works. But then to really learn it, I find it very useful (even necessary) to play it at least a couple of times on the bandstand with a band.

 

[Colin the Bear]

If an obscure tune is commonly played at a jam it wouldn't be obscure? Asking for friend.......😉

Is your alter ego Jude? 😉

 

[Nick Wyver]

What put you off?

This sort of jazz jam session from the multiple descriptions here seems an exercise in musical intimidation

Can you expand on why you've stepped away?

I used to go to some of the many local blues/rock jams that there are round here. But, same tunes, same faces, I got bored.
Then I found a jazz jam. But, despite 10 minutes free improv with my drumming collaborator, same tunes, same faces, I got bored again.
It was all perfectly nice though. Friendly and no one whinging that I was reading the standards from an ipad.