FF 5.9 | Jamming
9 Jamming (1 Day)
Put students into small groups and have them take turns playing bass and chords together. It students need more confidence, assign two of them on each part.
Instruct them to play through a few choruses together while listing to the drums only backing track to help them keep time.
After students are comfortable keeping the form of the blues in small groups, have one of them play a solo while the others are playing bass and drums. The solo can be improvised or it can be an etude.
Alternateively, the entire class can be split into bass players, chord players, and soloists. Students can play each role at the same time. Having more than one student solo at a time helps them with performance anxiety.
If you have drums in the room, go over how to play a basic 12/8 shuffle groove and have students play drums.
The class can arrange a performance of a full blues song by choosing a standard from the essential tune list. I like to start with Sweet Home Chicago or Everyday I Have The Blues. If the class would like to do this, practice singing the lyrics together and have a student or students sing the melody while the rest of the class plays bass, chords, and drums.
More Teacher Resources
