Re: Old Time Jam Session Strum Patterns
Find when jamming on old-time tunes I do a lot more open-string chording than the closed-chord "chop" figures I might do at a bluegrass jam. More of a "running" figure, with a note falling on every beat, than a 1/3 or 2/4 emphasis.
Also, if I don't know the melody, I often find a "piece" of the melody that I can learn, and that fits with what the lead instruments are playing, and insert it whenever that part of the tune comes around. Since most fiddle tunes are in good mandolin keys, and since most old-time jams repeat the tune many times, the little added melody "reinforcement" seems to add to the overall texture. When the tune moves past the part I'm adding, I go back to chording.
I can usually hold up my (modest) end in an old-time jam, and even suggest and lead on the limited number of tunes that I know. Good ears are usually the secret: listen to the lead and the more experienced rhythm players, improvise until you find something that fits well into the context of the tune, and be prepared to be flexible, courteous, and sensitive to the music around you.
Allen Hopkins
Gibsn: '54 F5 3pt F2 A-N Custm K1 m'cello
Natl Triolian Dobro mando
Victoria b-back Merrill alumnm b-back
H-O mandolinetto
Stradolin Vega banjolin
Sobell'dola Washburn b-back'dola
Eastmn: 615'dola 805 m'cello
Flatiron 3K OM
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