[Harp-L] "I don't feel ready" to join a Jam

["John F. Potts" <hvyj@xxxxxxx>]

I think the most significant "jam ready" consideration is whether the  
player hears music in his or her head.  That is, as music is played  
do they "hear" something they feel they can add to it.  If so, it's  
just a matter of getting sufficient technical control over the  
instrument to be able get it to come out of the harp, and jamming is  
a step in that process.

Theory knowledge is a very helpful roadmap to assit the player in  
finding the notes he/she hears in his/her head. But if the player  
doesn't have anything in mind they want to play, I think the player  
will struggle more in a jam setting using purely theory to figure out  
what to play. In a jam a player has to be able to go with the flow-- 
it's not like playing to a pre-recorded back-up track.

I am of the opinion that (assuming a beginning player has at least  
rudimentary skills) a beginner will learn more in 20 minutes playing  
live, onstage with other musicians than they will learn in a month of  
practicing alone at home.

FWIW.

JP