Hi folks,
Over the past few months I have been rehearsing with keys, drums, and bass. We do a small % of Dead tunes and other tunes we like. All of us having jobs and responsibilities, we only get 2-3 hours a week to play together about 3 weeks out of any month. So, we've learned a bunch of tunes, more or less, and can play them somewhat competently.
Where I am having trouble is that the keyboard player and I both understand jamming and going out on limbs and finding new places while playing but the bass player and drummer show no signs of getting it. Either the keys or I will try to go off on a solo and do all kinds of things both melodically and/or rhythmically that go somewhere, if you know what I mean. When the keys do that, I try to be right there altering my chord voicings and timing to support and augment what he's playing, and he does that when I solo too. On the other hand, the drummer and bass player just go along as though they can't even hear us and play the same things they play throughout the whole song. No change in dynamics, no crescendos, no nothing. It is starting to piss me off.
How do I explain to these guys what I am looking for?
Over the past few months I have been rehearsing with keys, drums, and bass. We do a small % of Dead tunes and other tunes we like. All of us having jobs and responsibilities, we only get 2-3 hours a week to play together about 3 weeks out of any month. So, we've learned a bunch of tunes, more or less, and can play them somewhat competently.
Where I am having trouble is that the keyboard player and I both understand jamming and going out on limbs and finding new places while playing but the bass player and drummer show no signs of getting it. Either the keys or I will try to go off on a solo and do all kinds of things both melodically and/or rhythmically that go somewhere, if you know what I mean. When the keys do that, I try to be right there altering my chord voicings and timing to support and augment what he's playing, and he does that when I solo too. On the other hand, the drummer and bass player just go along as though they can't even hear us and play the same things they play throughout the whole song. No change in dynamics, no crescendos, no nothing. It is starting to piss me off.
How do I explain to these guys what I am looking for?
Such a long, long time to be gone, and a short time to be there...