When talented musicians get together, regardless of what their musical preferences or personal tastes, they can make something beautiful emerge from the jam session.  Maybe it will not be the highlight of their music making careers, but most of them have unique something to say and there is a sense of accomplishment between them. Yes there will be supreme musical results and it will be beautiful to listen to as the pro music makers jam and rip.  Music performance, however, is not just for takented musicians.  Music is for all of us and that is why often simply tapping a tambourine can be a blast when jamming with talented music makers.  That is why, in a parlour setting, it is important to have the right accompaniment music to jam along with.

Many people take jam songs and accompaniment backing tracks for granted. 

You see, in improvised music there is almost a complete emphasis on the experiments that jammers make when inspired.  We talk with our instruments, not our voices.  Therefore, people tend to notice the jamming a whole lot more than the musical accompaniment behind the live playing.  The accompaniment music is a big part of making a joyous jazz noise just as much as the ripping and shredding of notes played as improvisation.

Anyone who has ever done band jamming stand ins knows that accompaniment music is important for a new group of jam buddies, but few people really think about its use in the parlour in front of a crowd of partyers. In karaoke singing, you get to sing some of your favorite pop songs with a cheesy sound muffled behind you. If there were no cheesy backing tracks, there would junk accapella than a real exciting and inspired jamm style performance.

Music tacks, whether it is provided by midi piano and computer, or provided by a tape machine, or by a digitally recorded midi music track, is every bit as important in parlour drinking music. It is the only way to keep people all together within the parlour in sync and enjoying the playing of the jammers.

Using accompaniment tracks and midi music gives people inspiration and gives clues when to start making jazz noises and play trills and shred. To stop a midi song simply push the button - but be prepared to watch the jammers continue creating an improvisational masterpiece. How fast they should jam or tap or sing and what kind of energy they put into the performance depends on any of a number of factors, including the accompanying music played behind the jammers. 

Although almost any backing tracks and accompaniment music will keep people together on the same groove, you would be amazed at the great difference that will be made by using high quality loops and beats with that crazy Native Instruments high energy music that gets everyone going. Jazz noises and ripped scales abound!

We used to use a recorded midi accompaniment in our parloour when we jam because we were much too poor to hire the Gap Band or Peter Frampton to play behind us.  Then, one day, we were fortunate enough to get some donations and we went to the soup kitchen and found fourteen ex-musicians who were happy to play percussion and clap in the backgground at our Thusrday Night Parlour Music Club. We paid them in Peppermint Snapps and they liked to contribute. They were willing to volunteer to play for us during the parlour sessions because they loved music and everyone loves to improvise, regardless of how well the chops are kept up.

You should not believe anyone that says homeless people can't jam. They do it all the time in the parlour. They make jazz noises and break the beats in a drunken stupor that makes living so much fun! We see how it got people jumping and moving to the music with tambourines and bongos donated by the local music store in exchange for hanging a abnner that invited people to take drumming lessons from students of Terry Bozzio. 

It was quite an amazing thing for anyone to see as that banner had some guy with many piercings and he looked familiar, but I think it was just a make believe make up session that made hime look so familiar. Nun the less, our parlour jamming benefited from the decorative banner, even if it was a blatant ad for a music store to make money. We had bongos if nothing else to jam with. The guy upstairs finds each of us individually and inspires us in strange ways. We all perform in our own way, but to inspire as a group the donated instruments were as important as the backing tracks! Jazz improvised party music seems to be one of peoples favorite things in our parlour. I wish you could all experience it like we do every Thursday night.

 

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About the Author:
Brett Convy is a bartender and parlour specialist with jzz on his mind most all of the time. He does photography for next to nothing and has a great web site http://www.weddingeventphotography.com/ - Wedding Photography that has some good info.

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