[Harp-L] For those new to jams

["vze825jl" <samblancato@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi, 

 

For the player(s) who recently posted about being new to jamming I wanted to
add this comment about what to be prepared for when you first start to play
with other people.   What you may not expect is that your playing will be
effected in lots of ways by those around you.  Apart from the 'musical'
issues there, it's going to be really different just because of the
cacophony of sound around you.  The air is literally thickened with sound
and it can feel kind of crowded when you first start.  This took me a while
to get used to.  That's why it's important to be able to play loud enough so
that you will be sure to hear yourself.  I'd played in jams -before I got
the sweet rig I have now - where I literally could not hear myself playing.
If you get into that situation take my advise and don't even bother playing
because it's real likely you'll be playing like crap and not know it.  

 

At the club where I jam frequently, several people have commented on my
playing by saying that I seem much more confident as of late and that I just
sound a whole lot better.  My amp has a really great sound but it's really
just because I can finally hear myself clearly above the other guys and I
got used to standing in that loud world you get in when you're in the middle
of it.

 

Sam Blancato, Pittsburgh

 

As an aside, I wanted to say that I've been off this list for a while
because spy ware fried my windows XP and I had to get everything reloaded.
I lost all my email addresses and it took a while to get every thing back
up.  With all the conflict in the world right now and here in America all
the animosity between liberals and conservatives I can safely say there is
one thing we can all get behind.  Weather you're right wing or left wing,
Moslem or Jew,  atheist or Christian, vegetarian or meat eater..I think we
can all agree that the &^%king  #$$holes who create spy-ware aught to be
tarred and feathered and then whipped to within an inch of their lives.
Gawd, what kind of jerk does that kind of stuff for kicks?