Does anyone feel they can't play with oth

The Lost Chord wrote: whenever I try to jam with people, I feel like they are just awful and cannot keep up with the awesomeness I am trying to achieve.   No ONE I know listens to prog, and they can only handle simple stuff.  Does anyone find it easy to just pick up with someone who doesnt really listen to the same stuff as you?   I feel like in order to form a band or play with someone they have to be on the same page, or levbel even.   Prog is absoluteley brilliant and most people cannot handle a keyboard run and cant fit right on drums and bass.   its awful!

I've experienced that MANY times. Me and a friend of mine started a band when we were 11-12 years old. I was deeply into Genesis and King Crimson at that time and only wanted to play that. The other band memebr didn't understand a thing when I played som 7/8, 9/8 time-signatures for them. So we played some Deep Purple and AC/DC influenced stuff instead.

I have a bassist friend, and even though he's into prog, he can hardly play his freaking instrument. I swear, the kid can't play 'La Grange' by ZZ Top in 4/4. I'm not sure about the rest of us, though. We can't play Black Sabbath's 'War Pigs' anymore, because even though everyone else had mastered it, our bassist didn't know when to come in.

Well. My last band/group was with these two professional jazz guys (drums and piano). I really felt like the worst player in that group (guitar/flute). Even though I have no problems learning the notes of new songs in some 5 minutes by heart, and I know my theory. Just not as much experience in playing. Even though all our own jazz songs were composed by me. Anyway, the jamming was always there, it's jazz after all. Sadly we had to break the band.

Then I was a singer in this one band. Now I noticed a complete difference in the way of jamming. THese guys had played for years and I was the new guy. Firstly, they were great players as well and had some splendid songs. But when it came to jamming, I took my guitar and played with them. But I realised they did it well, but completely different as I do. I'm used to playing long solos where I have time to build up the atmosphere and then bring it down for the nxt player, but it was all hectic with them, really short solos and everyone put out their best in it. I didn't really get the feeling into it.

Then my friend who is a drummer. We often jam together, but welack a bassist. though we know each other good enough, there's no problem knowing what the other one is thinking of. same goes to jamming with my brother too. He's a bassist, but doesn't live here, so no new Rush group here :P

I remember one of my friends. The guy is fast. He used to play symphony X all the time, but he's not very good at playing with others. Anyway, I find jamming with ther guitarists harder than with other instruments. But when I take my flute, then it's easier with a guitar.

Unless of course the other guitarist is a great player like my teacher. Then any mistake you make, he can hear it before you and change the chord behind it. He's amazing :)

Philéas wrote: Although I really have no problem with jamming with people who have different tastes and/or are below my level, people might have problem with me. I have realised that I am a pretty eccentric player.

Yeah, this tends to be the problem with me too, in a way.  I like to change time signatures and keys during a song, but no one else I've ever played music with does.  Then again, I live in a small town and everyone I've ever jammed with hates prog.  There just aren't enough people around.

Actually, the other members of my previous band made me take out all the nifty little things that made the music unusual... turned it into just plain old rock.   It was okay, but I got more and more disappointed as time went on.  I only managed to keep one song sounding even a little bit progressive.

The Lost Chord ... wow do I hear you.

Certif1ed  -  That sample you put up is amazing.  I wish I had that level of quality on my recordings.  You don't happen to live in MA, do you?  Eh, but my new project is supposed to be metal/prog anyways. If you (or anyone) is interested,  http://www.myspace.com/sonolumina  is currently just me recording different things multitrack, also just first takes (but because I don't have time to do more than that).   http://www.myspace.com/thejamexperimentband is my previous band that ended up not being ambitious enough for my taste.

I have an amazing singer lined up for Sonolumina, her voice is just superb with incredible range.  I wish I had a sample up with her voice in it, but I don't yet.  She's definately the easiest person to work with for me, though.  She offers suggestions without trying to just make things easier, and I usually take her advice.


Edited by StarsongAgeless - April 25 2007 at 14:18

Hmm I jam with my brother and his friend a lot of times but not becasue they like prog (they dislike a lot of it )

But since I can play almost at their level (I am a pretty bad bassist imo) we get into psychedelic jams and/or blues jams or even funk.

Every person I've played with I can jam perfectly with them because we are usually on the same skill level.

But I don't get to play what I want to play all the time so its a compromise when you jam with your brother or a friend who does not like prog.

Hah - I've just noticed that ACID Express doesn't allow you to actually use FX plugins... so that negates any compression

Getting someone that's into "normal" rock to play prog doesn't seem like it would be that much of a stretch.  If you think about it, prog's not that much different, it's not like you're asking them to play a completely different style from what they're comfortable with.

I think that prog essentially requires the same techniques as normal rock, just a totally different mindset, and possibly more skill.

Sasquamo wrote: I think that prog essentially requires the same techniques as normal rock, just a totally different mindset, and possibly more skill.

If people with different mindsets try to play together they would clash almost right away and one of them would have to compromise