This week's rewind, Jam Session 212o (6:13; see original show notes) closes out our 12-week run of...well, reruns. I personally like the spacey groove of this jam session. Take a listen:
So next week, I hope we'll have something new...and different! Fingers crossed...
Subscribe (Blog + Podcast) This week's rewind, Jam Session 111l (15:16; see original show notes), was a fun, disgustingly long, super-noisy bit of rock 'n roll. We had an unmanned guitar on a guitar stand, plugged in to an amp. My brother Jon played a guitar but also controlled foot pedals for the effects attached to his guitar and the unmanned guitar. I played the bass at times, and at other times I smacked the unmanned guitar to play a chord or two. There are no overdubs; all instruments were recorded at the same time. The drum beat was a bit reminiscent to Nine Inch Nails' "March of the Pigs" (but slower). Anyhow, take a listen:
We've challenged ourselves to, instead of creating Jam Sessions, create Recording Sessions next time around (in a couple of weeks). In other words, in place of quickly-created chord progressions and improvisations, we're going to take a bit more time and make some quickly-recorded -- yet full-realized -- songs. It will be quite the challenge for your Jon and Ryan, your Chord du Jour hosts! Can we do it?
Subscribe (Blog + Podcast) Today's rewind is Jam Session 310p (6:48; see original show notes). When a production can't get the rights to an actual song, they often hire other musicians to create a mimicking, sound-alike, but not-infringing, replacement track. A more polished recording of Jam Session 310 can potentially be a temp track replacement for several popular songs. (By the way, DeRamos Music runs a temp track replacement service.)
We are so close to new Jam Sessions (and more)!
Subscribe (Blog + Podcast) Today's Rewind is Jam Session 109i (6:29; see original show notes), which has a 12-bar blues structure, which is essentially a full song in and of itself: Just add lyrics (and some sort of a melody).
In any case, we'll have some new Jam Sessions soon!
Subscribe (Blog + Podcast) Today's Rewind is Jam Session 208m (6:38; see original show notes). This jam session came about with the simple notion of coming up with a simple chord progression, then deconstructing the chords into little guitar riffs. That's pretty much riff-writing 101 (for those who have riff-writer's block).
We'll have some new Jam Sessions soon!
Subscribe (Blog + Podcast) Today's Rewind is Jam Session 207n (5:58; see original show notes). My brother Jon came up with the chord progression, which lent itself to the bassline...which has this nice "sexy" groove to it. (At least that's what I get from it. Then again, I can't be entirely objective [or at all], since I was the bass player for this Jam Session.)
The upgraded Chord du Jour recording studio is good to go, so we'll have some new Jam Sessions soon!
Subscribe (Blog + Podcast) If I remember correctly, Jam Session 106h (9:27; see original show notes) was our first recording as a three-piece live band, well, two humans and a robot, at least.
We've recently upgraded our humble Chord du Jour recording studio, so new Jam Sessions are imminent!
Subscribe (Blog + Podcast) Jam Session 205m (5:26; see original show notes) was fun to record. In this podcast, my brother and I were essentially one of those blues-rock bands without a bass player. Good times.
Stay tuned for next week's Jam Session Rewind, and yes, new Jam Sessions are on their way!
Subscribe (Blog + Podcast) The four chords of Jam Session 104k (8:52; see original show notes) need to be incorporated into a song. The progression -- Am-F-C-E -- has that epic feel, like the overly-used Am-F-C-G chord progression, but instead of ending with G, we end with E major. With the E major chord (E, G#, and B notes), we shift from the A natural minor scale (Aeolian mode: A B C D E F G A) to the somewhat more dramatic A harmonic minor scale (A B C D E F G# A).
I rerecorded the four chords with some more guitars, as well as bass and drums that kick in around 4:44; this recording is Backtrack 104k (5:41; see show notes):
As for using Am-F-C-E (or equivalent in another key) in a song, I've tried. I've placed it in so many arrangements that it's bound to stick sooner or later. We'll be back with another Jam Session Rewind next week, but we'll have lots of Chord du Jour between now and then.
Subscribe (Blog + Podcast) 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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Jam Session 202o (12:26; see original show notes) was a very fun Jam Session to record. My brother Jon and I used two different alternate guitar tunings, and the drums played a sweet shuffle. This podcast also features some very messy blues slide playing by yours truly.
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Jam Session 101h (see original show notes) was our first Chord du Jour Podcast. At the time of production (August or September 2009), we were still trying to figure out the format of the podcast, so we just jammed over the C major chord.
After a few weeks, we finally developed a specific production routine: (1) Come up with a chord progression and rhythm at the last minute; (2) keep the vocal intro short and describe the current chord progression quickly; (3) shut up (mostly) and play, until the Jam Session is over!
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