Everybody wants to be a hero

Some people like to noodle, some people like to groove. Server surf until you find a match.

Well... I know I probably tend to overplay alot, but overall I do try to make a conscious effort to fit whatever others present stylistically.

In terms of bass players, as a drummer I've found that many will often essentially play solos over whatever repetitive groove/pattern I may try to lay down. This can become somewhat frustrating because the burden of forming whatever cohesive rhythm section therefore ends up falling more on my shoulders and everything ultimately is diminished. When I go "boom boom bap"... you go "boom boom bap", ideally that's the way its should work.

Virtuosity aside, frustrated guitar players masquerading as bass players are a blight on humanity IMHO.

Everything above.

The best jams are when things start simple and stay simple. Or no one solos for more than two intervals. If a jam is going well, I'm more than happy to keep a good groove going steadily underneath with no more than the occasional fill to keep the energy going.

Part of the problem is that, if you're sitting alone on a server, you'll get bored pretty quickly just holding a basic groove. So I'll (a) practice my rudiments - though I'm so crap at 120bpm that anyone joining leaves - or (b) solo big time - which again generally scares away the easily-intimidated. If I notice someone join, though, I get straight back to playing time. So please do hang around a while - maybe say "hi" if I don't seem to see you turn up, etc... :)

There are some very good bass players around and some guitarists with great feel for rhythm. Sadly there are a lot more hours in the week and everyone's schedule is pretty random, so getting it all to "just happen" is a rare joy.

I love this thread!

I do agree, some bassists don't play a steady rhythm or appreciate the drums, or they will expect others to lead them.
A good Jam does come from the bass and too many will solo or not guide a jam sometimes.
If a bassist wants to solo then leave it for ends of a 4/4 or a fill, or in and out the rhythm spaces, but if you start basic then build it will most times work as we all then build from each other.

When I compose stuff in a server I will use long pads, or rhythmic stuff that has gaps for bassists and guitarist to play in or out of. This is why I do so much similar stuff, to leave room but people will hear and think, "hey what, there's no room!" but there is, just not much room for solo's unless a singer or a lead guitar.

I mostly have good jams, sometimes things annoy me as they do for all of us but I try to let them things go right on by as much as possible now.

But one thing for all that is hard to let go is when someone same instrument comes in and plays over you, not along with but over you then tries to just play the only riffs they know and make all follow them.
This just ain't on, it's arrogant and ignorant and all jammers shouldn't listen to idle tittle tattle and stand against people doing this.

But to all players, get some FX's setup, so when your one of 2 or 3 of the same instrument you can use your instrument in a different way and still be part of a jam.
Also to drummers, setup up some percussion banks, so if drum spot is taken then you can percussion, when other drummer needs a break you can switch.
For guitarists, just copy tune of of guitarist, maybe leave some notes out on certain beats to emphasise the rhythm more.

If ya a bassist and ya wanna solo, then it needs to be jazz or something or ya learn to sing or play a guitar. :P
If ya a guitarist wanting to do bass, buy a bass. :P

And if ya a German, then for the time being try not to think about football. ;) :P
And if ya Dutch, good luck! 8^S :P

when i play bass, usually 1st 120 or more measures you'll hear me trying to figure out the correct notes,and also trying different basslines that could fit,the next 30 measures or so, im trying to mantain the last solid bassline i managed to play,till i hit a wrong note, so i start to solo there,and after a while return to try basslines again,till find a new one that works (thats because i forget how was the line after noodling solos) ;-)
anyway, i agree with kramer,surfing servers till get the sweet spot
...but imo guitarrists are indeed the noodlemasters here and everywhere in the real life :D

Any ideas on this ?

-anyone can be the starting point or basic floorwork of a jam, not only this or that instrument, as i think its possible to everyone to play a groove following the metronome or feeling the tempo i should say and if so, its up to the others to be in harmony with the music going on through not everyone can follow any tempo or any groove for instance. (and its possible that a groove isnt liked at all but thats another story)

-a good groove is cool but if its just a loop, personnaly it will just bore me after a little while so a solid groove, yes, a solid loop is just annoying at some point; or its late, we're drunk and we dont care at all lol.
music is alive, dont just trap it in some patterns like us, stupid humans in our society.
personnaly i like if there is a solo player that can follow a tonality so i can play any chors i want as long as stay in the same tonality but i also like doing solo with people changing tonality and stuff, its a good training actualy for the ears especialy and for musicality.

-im the hero so dont try to be me, you just cant lol.

as a guitarist, im often doing too much solo i think but since im also often training i cant really help it, it also happen that i waste some jam because i try some stuff i dont usualy do but i also try to follow or be in harmony with others, it depend of my mood or inspiration i guess.
for a guitarist who train, it can be very hard to not fall in those no end solo as we fall in some automatism due to our training and then we need some adaptation time to include our training in our playing style (my point of view) so we waste even more jam ! lol but keep in mind that some people will come to train here because of the metronome, some dont listen to others at all while jamming, some even come here just to waste some jam sometime and some will come for fun or whatever but anyway, i think there is enough server for everyone.
(btw the server list if you dont know it: http://ninjam.dyndns.org/index-new.php)

Some people have yet to understand the old adage: less is more.

"If 'less is more', imagine how much more 'more' will be!"
- Frasier Crane

I don't have enough chops to branch out especially when I still struggle with a click. So if I am there you can count on my at least trying to stay simple with the drums

I was in a jam earlier with five guitarists and a keys player, with one guitarist running drum and bass rhythm tracks and it worked!

There was a solid groove going down which wasn't completely restrictive in patterns and there was for the most part multi-layered rhythm tracks going on in the guitars with one solo at the time, although sometimes there were multiple lead lines at once it added to the chaotic cacophony of funk that was going down.

I have experienced what you're talking about with noodlin' guitars and bassists not grooving but the majority of my experiences have been positive, and you can always manipulate your mix so that you're hearing more of the players you want to hear if you are feeling desperate.

Andy: I'll stop thinking about foofball..i promise ; )

:) Well they won again today so became 3rd, that's loads better than the rest of us did. :)

But back on topic I think the main problem is everyone won't do as I say, me me me me me me me me

No I'm only joking, but seriously why wont you?

you cant tell anyone to do anything over the internet.. they will only do the opposite

due to the wide range in skill levels, jams will never be predictable and that's where the fun is.

communicate through playing, not through the chat box.

LOL, LMAO, OMFG, ROFL!

Acronyms FTW!

Ive been away for a while so forgive my late post please. Don't you think it is fantastic that a group of people who will probably never meet can make such great sounds and make such terrific music? But we could organise a barbeque...andy how big is your back yard?

I swear I can read peoples minds with ninjam. I have influenced others to play certain ways and they have influenced me, only through sound. The majority of times I've experienced frustration is when there is not enough space, and space comes from closing your eyes and listening to others in the space..... Or your all in different head spaces and can't link up (kinda makes sense when we are all in different bio rhythms). But again I love to jam until everyone clicks and the groove picks up.

I enjoyed reading everyones comments :) Amazing comments and insights.

Some people are alpha and some are not - karlpopper is good at creating a pattern for others to fit around and also good at fitting variations. I enjoy playing with him as he has a similar awareness to mine.

Sometimes I want to create a monster with chaotic unfiltered musical diarrhea, but mostly I'm thinking of a beautiful musical structure with different builders and I want to make sure I hammer the right nail and paint the right colour.

To add another thought... I think to make a jam great, each player needs to be good a listener and understand musical form intuitively, rather than being someone who can only create for themselves or reproduce something they've heard.

...

One of the most funny experiences is when you're having this fantastic jam, somehow feeling so connected with everyone else, they're responding so well to what you're playing it's beyond belief!

...

Then you notice transmit is off..!

(Been there, done that...)

There's roomish for a barbee, but the local hoodies over here would gatecrash it. :)

Jay, can I have some of what you've been taking? :P :D

PLJones, if we do get a 40 over here in August, how you gonna play?

Barbeque at Andy's? If that's no good come to Australia.

the transmit button - o yeah that is so funny when that happens, really really spins me out.

>PLJones, if we do get a 40 over here in August, how you gonna play?
Andy, I've been over 40 for a few years now... Oh, you mean 40C? ;P

We bought a portable air con with window venting. It can cool most of a room. And I've got a fan. And I can sweat. Lots. :D

---
...But how do you play with people, for people. Playing fast around the drums is one thing. But to play with people for others, to listen to, that's something else. That's a whole other world. -- Tony Williams

How do you vent your one, I have one but ya meant to keep the windows closed when using it so how do I vent the hot air? :)
Wonder if we have power outages if it happens, like the USA does.
It's not like we can ask BP to supply more oil to the Electric Plants, that's even if they have any left!

Nexty, how longs it take to walk to your place from here, and I wonder if they could make a AussiTunnel just like the EuroTunnel, but straight through the Earth. :)
Obviously again it would probably be best not to ask BP to make the hole. :)

< "It can cool most of a room."

I chuckled at that!

"Honey, come over to the cool part of the room, ok?"

> How do you vent your one
It's meant to be vented through a wall -- but getting the hole 8" drilled is rather major operation for something meant to be portable... How many 8" holes through the wall do you want in a house? Anyway, it also had a small 7" wide x 2" tall vent and we stuck this in a large bit of cardboard and stuck the cardboard blocking a window, so it was venting like that. No hot air coming back in.

Yeah I was pondering it in my mind again and yes I think I'd put the pip out and stick plastic on the open window around the pipe. Only trouble is the pipe is short and the air conditioner has no chance of getting near the window atm cos the sofa's in the way.
I could lengthen it, there about a 10ner for the Tumble dryer ones which should lengthen it but then we got a hot pipe in the room we need to cool also.
I don't want a hole on the wall as it gets freezing in this living room over the winter.

Maybe if I bring my family of 8 round to yours Pete and with 2 air conditioners we might get ya whole room cool. :D