Jam Session Rewind: 103l, or the Song That Almost Was

Jam Session 103l (8:09; see original show notes) almost became a song.  Well, it can still be one, but its development has been put on hold for a while.  Let's start from the beginning:

My brother Jon came up with the simple-yet-dramatic, waltzy chord progression.  I translated the chord progression as a effects-laden riff on the bass.



I decided to rerecord the progression with some drums, and so it became Backtrack 103l (5:44; see show notes).



We added a couple of newer progressions (for the chorus and bridge) and some lyrics -- a complete song was pretty much good to go by January of 2010.  I guess I had second thoughts with the overall flow of the song, the pacing, the melody, etc., so this D minor song has been put on hold for a long while now.

As you can see, because we never finished the song, there is no MP3 example for this blog.  We'll get around to it, eventually.

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A5 Chord (Guitar) + Backtrack 103l

The Chord of the Day is another voicing of the A5 power chord for guitar:

Chords for Backtrack 103l:  Dm F5 A5



Jam Session Notes:  This is a rerun of Backtrack 103l.  You can find the original Backtrack blog entry here, and the show notes for Jam Session 103l here.

Guitar is in Dropped D Tuning

     Dm for three bars     F5        A5
E  |-5-------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
B  |-6-------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
G  |-7-------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
D  |-7-------------------|-3---------7--------|---------------------|
A  |-5-------------------|-3---------7--------|---------------------|
D  |-0-------------------|-3---------7--------|---------------------|

Bass is also in Dropped D Tuning

     Dm for three bars     F5        A5
G  |---------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
D  |---------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
A  |-5-----8-5-----------|--------------------|---------------------|
D  |---0-0-----0---------|-3-3-3-----7-7-7----|---------------------|

Jam Session Serving Suggestions:

As showcased in the embedded Backtrack, distortion pedals for bass are also cool.



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Podcast Subscribers: If these jam session notes look jumbled, please visit http://www.chorddujour.com - Thanks!

Backtrack 103l in D

This week's giveaway is a re-recording of Jam Session 103l, without your Jam Session hosts talking over the music. We've also added drums to the mix.



Like yesterday's Jam Session 103l, the guitar and bass are in Dropped-D tuning, and the chords of this Backtrack are Dm F5 A5:  Strum along, create melodies (and/or solo licks) over the chords, and learn more by playing more!

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Podcast subscribers: If these jam session notes look jumbled, please visit http://www.chorddujour.com and look up Backtrack 103l (that's an 'L') - Thanks!

Jam Session 103l with Dm F5 A5

Here are some show/lesson/jam session notes for Jam Session 103l:

• Like yesterday, we're in Dropped-D tuning for both guitar (D A D G B E) and bass (D A D G).
• We've added effects to the bass, to give it some heavy fuzz-like distortion.
• We actually used a distortion, followed by auto-wah/envelope filter (with the treble up) to approximate the fuzz.
• We played with the 6/8 fast-waltz mentality (one two three FOUR two three), but 12/8 slow-blues swing could also work in this case.
  

Here's the bass groove tabbed out in 6/8:

    Dm 

G |---------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
D |---------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
A |-5--5--5--8--5-------|-5--5--5--8--5------|-5--5--5--8--5-------|
D |----------------0----|----------------0---|----------------0----|

    F5       A5 

G |---------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
D |---------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
A |---------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
D |-3--3--3--7--7--7----|--------------------|---------------------|

12/8 (twelve eighth notes per measure) would also work:

Read more »

Jam Session 103k with D5 G5 F#5 D5 A5 G5

Here are some show/lesson/jam session notes for Jam Session 103k:

• We're in Dropped-D tuning
• Guitar (low to high):  D A D G B E
• Bass (low to high):  D A D G
• This week is full of distortion sounds, so crank up your amp and/or step on some pedals!
  

Guitar tab:

    D5   G5 F#5 D5 A5 G5  Open Low D with Octaves

e |---------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
B |---------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
G |---------------------|-7/-9/11/12/14/16/17|/19------------------|
D |-0-----5\4-0-----7\5-|-x--x--x--x--x--x--x|--x------------------|
A |-0-----5\4-0-----7\5-|-5/-7/-9/10/12/14/15|/17------------------|
D |-0-0-0-5\4-0-0-0-7\5-|-0--0--0--0--0--0--0|--0------------------|

Bass tab:

Read more »

Jam Session 103j with D A C G

Here are some show/lesson/jam session notes for Jam Session 103j:

• Guitar, bass
• Sometimes we mess up, and sometimes it gets good.  It happens. ;-)
• Try some overdrive to warm up your sound.  With a guitar amp, you can just crank up the volume and add a bit of gain, being careful not to fuzz or crunch the distortion sound.
  

Guitar chords tabbed:

    D                     A                    C

e |-2-------------------|-0------------------|-0-------------------|
B |-3-------------------|-2------------------|-1-------------------|
G |-2-------------------|-2------------------|-0-------------------|
D |-0-------------------|-2------------------|-2-------------------|
A |---------------------|-0------------------|-3-------------------|
E |---------------------|--------------------|---------------------|

    G
e |-3-------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
B |-3-------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
G |-0-------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
D |-0-------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
A |-2-------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
E |-3-------------------|--------------------|---------------------|

Some bass ideas tabbed:

Read more »

Jam Session 103i with D Dmaj7 A G

Here are some show/lesson/jam session notes for Jam Session 103i:

• This is another guitar and bass combo.  Check out our Chord du Jour Backtracks, which usually feature a full band (guitar, bass, drums, etc).
  
• This is a fast waltz number (6/8) - one two three, FOUR two three... would be the count.
• Ryan plays a Jazz Bass.
  

Here are some of the chords used (and then some?):

Guitar:

    D                     Dmaj7                A

e |-2-------------------|-2------------------|-0-------------------|
B |-3-------------------|-2------------------|-2-------------------|
G |-2-------------------|-2------------------|-2-------------------|
D |-0-------------------|-0------------------|-2-------------------|
A |---------------------|--------------------|-0-------------------|
E |---------------------|--------------------|---------------------|

    G
e |-3-------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
B |-3-------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
G |-0-------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
D |-0-------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
A |-2-------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
E |-3-------------------|--------------------|---------------------|

Bass (not what was played in the jam session, but this is just an idea of how notes from the chords can be incorporated):

Read more »

Jam Session 103h with D Bm G A

Here are some show/lesson/jam session notes for Jam Session 103h:

• Jon plays guitar; Ryan plays bass.
• Standard tuning for a four-string bass is like the thickest four of a guitar:  E A D G, but one octave lower.
• For some reason, Jon and Ryan use lipstick mics to record their voices, when these sort of mics are usually used to record instruments, not voices/vocals.
• A 2.0 mm pick is sometimes used during this jam session for the bass.
  

Here are some chords used, in tablature form:

Read more »

Sneak Peek Sunday: D

This week, Jon and Ryan jam in D (major, minor, modes, whatever), with guitar and bass, for another week of Chord du Jour Jam Sessions!  Be sure to subscribe with your favorite podcatcher for this mp3 podcast!

Tweet to us @DeRamosMusic!

Podcast subscribers: If these jam session notes look jumbled, please visit http://www.chorddujour.com - Thanks!