Jammers Welcome - Blues for Tom

[Tapper Mike]

Hi,
I've created a new "mix" in mixcraft Complete with a video chord chart. Jam to your hearts content. And share. You are welcome to replace any of the tracks you like.

It's a simple 8 bar blues piece using only the instruments in mixcraft6
I've inserted a few blank midi tracks for virtual instruments.

This is my first time out. I'll try to get the video file size (as it should have sound) smaller next time

[outteh]

Mike - need a link?

[Tapper Mike]

Sorry Tom,
http://tappermike.com/mixcraft/BluesForTom.zip

My heads in a million places right now. I'm working on a new "Smooth Jazz" jam right now. And I'm getting better at this.

[Mark Bliss]

Here's some Piedmont/Dobro riffs for Tom to blow to, or chop em up and do as ya wish!
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5ufiyrvf3buhj ... 0riffs.wav

*(Note, I added the first drum hit from the intro of the backing track to aid in synching the track.)

Couple of tips for the project idea Mike. All for future reference- Nice early effort, and I encourage you to continue!

First, setting the key in the Mixcraft project to the key of the tracks might help people who use methods that vary from yours.
Second, the sequence doesn't match the measures. The tracks are (I think it was) 1/4 of a measure off at the start and section changes. Thats going to throw some people off, again, depending on how they work. Need it to line up right for snap to work right.
Bass track has a tendency to come and go. I am not sure if the lower notes are even on a bass guitar scale? I am not sure if its my monitoring system, or my hearing, but the low notes tend to disappear on me. Way down low on the frequency scale there. Maybe its just me?
Lastly, keeping in mind that people are going to play it back a bunch while recording, might reconsider the piano chord beating. I couldn't take it after the second run through.....

[Tapper Mike]

Well, I'm still working out the kinks.

I have fixed the quarter note off thing and reloaded.

I set the key to G (I'm fairly sure)

Thanks for your contribution both the file and the review.

-Mike

[outteh]

Mark, great guitar (dobro) work! You need to put more of your stuff out here. I find the chord progression a bit different then I'm used to for an 8 bar blues, so I have to experiment a bit with some timing and chord changes.

[Mark Bliss]

Thanks! Yeah, its an unusual and odd progression for sure Tom.
I just went up a complementary 5th to D and improvised/threw something together.

[outteh]

Added a rythym guitar track, tweaked the drums and piano. You can download just the track or all the files. If you do all the files and the project you'll get my drum and piano changes.

Blues For Tom

[Tapper Mike]

Thanks Tom, Mark,

I promise to look at the files later tonite. Right now it's time to pay some bills.

[Mark Bliss]

Nice smooth riff on the strat Tom, really fits the backing track much better than mine. And yours and mine dont fit together at all.,,,,,,,, Or do they?

https://soundcloud.com/mbliss01/jammin

Just goofing around, but hey..... Oh and yeah, I screwed around with a few things too.
Ok, now we are ready for you to blow a little mellow harp fill in there buddy.

Project files to be uploaded later...........

[Tapper Mike]

Nice stuff to the both of you. I appriciate the extra rhythm track.

Here are some ideas to ponder for the future....

It's very hard to get that call and response thing between two musicians in the same room via the web. Though something that we (myself included) may wish to try in the future. I'd like to suggest "trading parts" Trading parts requires a little work on the first person to solo. As they have to stop themselves from playing every chance.

Trading Repeats.
Usually all of the stuff I do has at least three repeats of a larger "Section"
If it's a jazz standard type of song this means that the initial (head) is played by one person. The second section is for the "soloist" and the third section returns to the head/melody. A jazz standard like "All of me" has 32 measures of the "head" before the solo kicks in. If someone takes on one repeat but saves the other repeat for someone else it will all everyone to play a part with out stepping on the other persons part.

Trading Measures and Trading Fours.
Trading fours is also common to trad jazz improvisation and I've occassionally heard it in some country/bluegrass. The idea is basically the same. One person plays for four measures then is silent for the next four then comes in on the four after (every other four measures. Trading measures is obviously a tighter area to work with. If you think of songs like "No Particular Place to Go" by Chuck Berry or "See Ya Later Alligator" by Bill Haley you'll get the drift of trading measures.

[outteh]

We can achieve that in the mix also. Just trying to get the flow of the track for now. More stuff to follow. Check out the interplay on Mark's little ditty. There are quite a few trade offs going on and part of the fun, later, will be cutting and mixing the song having quite a selection to choose from.

[Tapper Mike]

I did, it's great. My only point is that... Some (not us) newer jammers might feel cut out if some of thier material is trimmed.

Trading whole sections or trading fours still is an interesting idea. If people understand that they will be "trading" parts they may "tighten" up their own parts to accomodate others.


On another note I've got to get back to doing a million and one things. I'd like to finish another "jam track" as quickly as possible. I'm also working on a "Tips for TM Jammers Thing. I know I may do things a little differently then the norm here.

[Mark Bliss]

Mike I hear you, and completely understand. But........

My push on this idea was to start out simple and casual, and see if we could get some people interested in collaborating, work out some file sharing techniques and so forth. Just for fun and jamming projects and such for now.

If one desires to set up a more formal collaboration, they need to do some serious song writing, presentation of ideas and be willing to become producer, band manager, editor, file keeper, etc, etc.....
I personally am not ready to get that involved at this point, and don't have any serious material to warrant it. My aim was to motivate and experiment.

In addition, any session musician knows that a producer might edit, significantly change or even decide against using any material created. And that session musician either accepts that or decides to work on his own projects. The open concept I have tried to cultivate here allows that anyone can mix a version to suite their tastes and desires. This is supposed to be educational and most importantly, fun!

Using the 12 bar blues project I started as an example, there are I believe 5 similar piano tracks. There certainly is no reasonable way to use them all in a mixdown. Is someones going to get cut in my mix? Even if I stretched the song out to 12 minutes, Yep. Its not something to be taken personally, and I warned of this kind of eventuality pretty clearly I believe in my project notes. I hope anyone who participated recognizes that they learned something by participating first and foremost, and continues to explore and learn.

Like I said before, the doors wide open for you or anyone else to do whatever you want with this. I like your ideas. But it may be best to start with little steps.......

[Tapper Mike]

Mark I'm not asking that of you or myself.

I'm simply stating it's something we could try in the future. If I decide I'd like to "trade" measures in one of my jams. It will only be a suggestion to other users not a command. I may actually work out "my parts" because I'd like to play along rather then just generate tracks. and then suggest to others that they may wish to "fill in" the empty open spots.


-Mike