The Bridge between Jamming and Song Writing

It should be noted that jamming is not necessarily song writing.  Jamming is it’s own entity and can be merely for pure enjoyment, the songs never to be recorded or heard again.  Jamming however can be used very successfully to facilitate song writing.  The jamming environment is very open to experimentation and the room is always full of creative energy.  Also, inspiration can strike from something one of the other players says or plays. 

There are endless ways to utilize the creative power of the jam.  Try this: Sit out on a jam and just stop and listen to the music.  Let the sounds over-take you and allow yourself to exist within the song.  Once you are totally immersed in the song, start writing lyrics.  You will notice how well the poetry you write matches the song.  The lyrics will be real and sincere and if you sing them, another creative element will be added to the jam.  This new element will strength the jam allowing more creative energy to flow and to be harnessed by the players.

Often during a jam, you will hear a musical gem but soon the jam changes directions and that gem may now be lost.  For this reason it is always good practice to record your jams.  This way you can go back to old jams and use the material in your song writing.  I know from experience that it can be easy to get backlogged with old recorded jams so it is very important to stay on top of things and listen to the jams often.   You can use something as simple as a blank tape and the microphone on a cassette player to record your jams or something as complex as protools and a series of recording microphones.  I personally like just  using something simple like garageband and the microphone on my macbook.  You would be amazed at the quality of sound you can get out of the condenser microphone in the computer.  Also, with garageband you can quickly make minor edits like cutting out dead air or even create multiple tracks to organize the jam for future listening. 

I have included the video of Melody Day by Caribou mostly because I just love the song.  Here it is:

-Heavy 

 

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