What to play?

[chris hansen]

Hello,

I hope this isn't a silly question but I'm looking for suggestions of music to play.

My two friends, a jazz bass player and a blues guitar player want to start getting together with me and play stuff. The problem is that we aren't sure what to play. We figure there's some kind of jazz standards or something that will be good to work on. I grew up mostly listening to whatever rock & roll was on the radio and my music collection is still pretty small so there's a lot I'm not familiar with.

What kind of stuff might work well with the combination of congas, bass, and guitar? Maybe something fairly simple to get us started?

Thanks

[pavloconga]

Hey chris,
Congas, bass and guitar - sounds like Funk to me!

Honestly though, there's so much you can do with just those 3 instruments, jazz, funk, latin, rock, pop and more besides. I suggest listening to the music you really like or are interested in, then see if you can reproduce it. Otherwise, just experiment, explore and have fun. You never know what you can invent just by playing around.

Some of the best times I've had are just playing with friends and coming up with stuff which quite often we work into original pieces.

cheers
Pavlo

[burke]

The girl from iponemma
Blue bossa
etc.

[chris hansen]

We did spend time just making things up and that was fun. I can't help thinking that can only get us so far though. Luckily, they kind of know a few songs and have more experience than me so we were able to figure some stuff out.

"The girl from iponemma" is actually one that was talked about. No one knew it very well but we plan to look it up and try it next time. I'd appreciate any advice you might have on the conga part.

[JohnnyConga]

Do any of you read music? If so pick up one of the many "Fake books" that have all kinds of music in them from Jazz to Latin.....and start there with known tunes....If you don't know what your doing on congas,well that is a whole nother thing....if you do well, it shouldn't be that hard for you then....also remember there are other things u can play also like, shakers/tamborine/bells/etc....if you know how to play these instruments....and believe me there ARE WAYS to play those instruments properly......good luck!...Johnny Conga...

[chris hansen]

If you don't know what your doing on congas,well that is a whole nother thing....i

That's kind of the thing. As a beginner, I know the basic techniques and some rhythms but I'm not comfortable listening to something and just playing along with it, unless one of the rhythms I know happen to fit. If it was on paper in front of me I could figure it out but I'm not very good yet at just inventing something that works.

I suppose it would make sense to put a recording on and spend time playing along with it and just experimenting, something I haven't done much of yet.

[vinnieL]

Chris,

As a newbie myself i have messed around with different music to see if i can tastefully squeeze some conga rythms in there and i'll be honest with you you can do it with almost any jazz etc. It's a matter of you finding the right rythm to play maybe varying a rythm with others and also tempo. As a group you will also have to find your niche i mean listen to the other guys when they are messing around what seems to stand out more in their playing. Of course there is always improvisational stuff where you all feed off eachother. Just listen to different things and spend time with the guys in your group and you can find i nice groove at some point.

[Tonio]

You will need to be the time keeper in this situation. Being that there is a bassist, you will need to lean on him/her alittle if you are not comfortable yet. Be simple and possibly give some ques as to where in the song/format you are.
You need to establish how a rhythms beat will help the bassist along since he/her will be concerned about the chord progression too.
To make that easier, some sheet music will help choose the tunes that can be playable and/or fun. Most sheet music has the genre, but can be vague i.e. salsa/latin could mean anything. So you'll need to go with the tempo everyones is comfotable with and try a few tunes. Its best to try and get as much material worth playing with some variety, otherwise it'll get boring. Don't take too much time on just one tune, perhaps to find how the whole group can groove. Then expand or change the format or feel to focus on the the strength of the group.
A blues guitarist will most likely want to pick tunes that are in 3/4 which can get boring for congueros, so you'll need to interject tempo/ feel changes or even try 6/8 on top of 3/4. Maybe even try a different style / genre behind the melody lines.

Good luck with it.

T

[pavloconga]

How about playing some Santana classics? e.g Oye Como Va (tito puente) Black magic woman, Samba Pa Ti.

[CongaTick]

chris,
I am in the EXACT same situation as you are, though a little farther along. I started putting together a fusion group and wound up trying out a couple of drummers to add to a guitar/bass/congas trio and they didn't work out. Our core trio has strong pro chops. Both bass and guitar seasoned pros who read. I've been learning for 18 years, etc. But we wound up a bit disorganized at one of our first jams, until the bass player pointed us in the right direction-- which is the direction and advice given by the fine pros who've preceded my post. You need to start with some common ground. In our case we're using a series of jazz standards as starting points (Autumn Leaves, Blue Bossa, Chameleon, Song for My Father, I Remember Clifford, etc) When we get together I can lay down a pattern bed for the bass player, who'll either work with it or ask for a modification. It doesn't take long for us to further expand the chemistry that already exists. We do record our stuff and that's a big help. But, as the pros have offered, pick out a few tunes you all know as a starting point. They may not be the tunes/style where you want to end up, but start with what you all know first. It would also help if you three acknowledge one of you as the musical director to help guide the process-- perhaps the one with the strongest reading ability, experience, chops, etc. But JC and Tonio are dead-on right. You need to be the heartbeat and timekeeper who can hold it precisely, continuously together for at least 5 - 7 minutes. My trio's getting together tomorrow night for another practice. I'll let you know how it's going. Good Luck, and don't be discouraged.

[chris hansen]

Thanks everyone for all the advice.

Are there any specific homework suggestions to help speed the process? Sometimes my practice feels a little unfocused, I wouldn't mind having specific goals to work on. I know I need to work on improvising, are there any specific steps or progressions to follow? Would it be true that the more rhythms I know the better? Are there specific rhythms that are especially versatile?

You need to start with some common ground. In our case we're using a series of jazz standards as starting points (Autumn Leaves, Blue Bossa, Chameleon, Song for My Father, I Remember Clifford, etc)

That's one thing we're looking for, some kind of standards. I bet the guys would be happy to play around with some of the ones you just mentioned. I'd also welcome other suggestions.

It's like everyone wants someone else to tell them what to go work on. Right now we're all kind of going:
"What do you want to play?"
"I don't know, what do you want to play?"
"Do you know this one?"
"No, not really"

[chris hansen]

When you find something you want to work on, where would you get the music from? There's fake books I suppose but can you get the music for a single song?

[Mike]

When you find something you want to work on, where would you get the music from? There's fake books I suppose but can you get the music for a single song?

I´d go for songbooks you can get in libraries or at schools (or you can buy them) and take a look at songs such as "Watermelon Man" or other Blues-related stuff that works well with Latin rhythms. Your fellow musicians will like the breaks, the fills etc.
On the other hand, LISTENING and trying to emulate has always been an essential part of my Jazz and Latin upbringing (apart from reading scores), so why don´t you start with tunes in that direction which are fun, like "Latin Blues" or "San Dunga" by Dave Pike. I also find the funky grooves of the early Crusaders like "Put it where you want it" or "Tough Talk" well-suited for jamming. The first one is in the Real Book and the second one can be figured out quite easily (I did it).

BTW, Chris, I am in quite a similar situation, haven´t played in a real band for years (job chores, lack of time) and I´m in the process of putting a band together (but I don´t have any musicians yet!) in the same style you mentioned, which is not really an easy task in my area which is deprived of Latin Jazz culture

So good luck to you. I hope you find something satisfying!



Edited By Mike on 1191828879