Music session

Last updated March 12, 2023

A music session is a social gathering of musicians and singers who perform music in a relatively informal context.^[1] Much of the music performed at such events is traditional music for the area, popular songs and other well-known tunes. In sessions, the participants typically improvise the accompaniment, song arrangements and musical ornaments to the melodies of songs or tunes. The venue may be a public bar, tavern, village hall or a private home.

The events usually occur at regular intervals and a weekday evening may be chosen if professional musicians are expected to take part, so that it does not interfere with paid weekend gigs. More amateur players may organize a session on a weekend. At a session, musicians usually play or sing for pleasure and to socialize. Frequently the musicians and singers are unpaid. However, one or two musicians (usually experienced players or professionals) are paid to 'lead' a session and to encourage others to join in. In a jazz or blues jam, the venue may pay a small "house band" (typically a rhythm section) to provide accompaniment.

Terminology

Depending on the genre and region, music sessions may be called a "traditional music session", "session", or in jazz and blues, a "jam session" or "jam".

Cultural role

The music session forms an important part of Scottish and Irish culture (see Irish traditional music session). Often such events form an integral part of music festivals. The festival will often consist of a series of concerts by local groups, well-known or famous bands or entertainers. It is quite common for the local amateurs and touring professional musicians to meet after the concerts and have a "session" late in the evening. These sessions may continue into early hours of the morning. In jazz and blues, "jam sessions" are an important part of the musical culture.

Instruments

Scottish and Irish traditional music

Usually traditional sessions are based around acoustic instruments. In Scotland as in Ireland, the most popular instruments include acoustic guitar, fiddle, accordion, mandolin, pipes, whistle, and sometimes double bass. Because an acoustic guitar is relatively quiet, guitarists often experience difficulty being heard over louder instruments such as accordions and whistles.

A small amplifier may be used to bring the guitar up to an audible level. However, there are a number of traditionalists who resent the use of guitar amplifiers at an otherwise acoustic session.

Depending on the session, some beginning performers may use chord charts or sheet music or no music notation at all, which is typically the case at a session with experienced participants and/or professionals. In sessions where no music notation is used, the participants or leader "call" well-known tunes that the other performers know "by ear", either by stating the title aloud, or more simply by starting into the melody.

Jazz and blues

In jazz and blues (and related genres and subgenres), a session is typically called a jam session or a jam. Jam sessions often take place after musicians and singers have finished their paid gigs for the evenings. Jams often take place at nightclubs or bars. Jams may include both professional instrumentalists and singers and talented amateurs. Some venues have a "house band" or backing band, a paid rhythm section that includes one or two chordal instrumentalists (e.g., piano, Hammond organ, electric guitar, etc.), a bassist (e.g., electric bass or double bass) and a drummer.

In jazz, jam participants include "horn players" ("horn" in jazz parlance means any of the wind or brass instruments used in the genre, including saxophone, trumpet, trombone, etc), rhythm section instrumentalists (who typically "sit in for" or replace one of the house band members) and singers. At more amateur jazz jam sessions, the performers may use lead sheets that contain the chord progression and melody of the song in music notation or fake books. At a more professional jam, performers may simply "call out" tunes, with the performers being expected to know the melody and chord changes.

At a blues jam, the session performers may include electric guitarists, harmonica ("blues harp") players and singers. At blues jams, the house band typically plays twelve bar blues and other blues song forms that are well-known for the session participants to solo over. At blues jams, the guitar solo, typically played on electric guitar through an overdriven guitar amp, is an important type of solo.

Role of leader

Paid session leaders help to ensure that there will be music performances throughout the evening for members of the public who might wish to listen without participating. The leader also acts as a host and master of ceremonies for the event, introducing performers and, thanking them after their songs and calling for applause. The session leader selects players and singers who are skilled enough to deserve a solo performance, and politely asks inexperienced performers to wait for later in the session.

If a session performer is exceptionally skilled, the leader may encourage her to perform a number of songs or tunes. On the other hand, if a player or singer does not perform that well, due to a lack of experience or technique, the leader will thank the individual for his or her performance and then diplomatically ask for the audience's applause, while at the same time inviting a more seasoned performer on stage to take the first performer's place. Less skilled performers may be asked to participate as a member of an ensemble, playing an accompaniment role in the background.

Some session leaders use a sign-up sheet where participants can indicate their interest in performing. The session leader is often an accomplished singer and/or instrumentalist, and she typically performs throughout the evening, either in solo roles or "comping" for (accompanying) other performers. The session leader's ability to perform helps to fill in any periods during the evening where no participants have asked to come up.

Purpose and recompense

The performers and singers who participate in an unpaid session typically do so for the enjoyment of performing and for the applause they receive from the audience. In jazz, jam sessions are often a good way for players and singers to meet other performers; in a sense, it can serve as a form of business networking for musicians. At a jam session, jazz musicians can hear other performers on stage, meet with them, and consider certain individuals for collaboration on future paid gigs or recording sessions. A jazz singer, for example, might use attendance and participation in jam sessions as a way to find potential members who she could hire as a rhythm section for her shows. A bandleader might use participation in jam sessions as a way to scout out new talent for her big band. In jazz, jam sessions are also an opportunity for informal learning, as players can show other performers new playing techniques or improvisation approaches.

The hospitality of the landlord or venue owner can also be important to the music session scene. Sometimes he or she might offer a round of drinks or tea, coffee and food to the performers, to thank them for their contribution to the entertainment of the audience.

Paid concerts

As part of jazz festivals, the organizers sometimes arrange what are termed "jam sessions", which are concerts in which only professional musicians perform. While these shows may share the informal feel of regular jam sessions, they are different from the truly informal jam sessions that are held, at which both professionals and talented amateurs share the stage, and at which none of the solo performers (except the host/MC) are being paid.

Related Research Articles

Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect of all human societies, a cultural universal. While scholars agree that music is defined by a few specific elements, there is no consensus on their precise definitions. The creation of music is commonly divided into musical composition, musical improvisation, and musical performance, though the topic itself extends into academic disciplines, criticism, philosophy, and psychology. Music may be performed or improvised using a vast range of instruments, including the human voice.

In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section ; and to provide all or part of the harmony, i.e. the chords from a song's chord progression, where a chord is a group of notes played together. Therefore, the basic technique of rhythm guitar is to hold down a series of chords with the fretting hand while strumming or fingerpicking rhythmically with the other hand. More developed rhythm techniques include arpeggios, damping, riffs, chord solos, and complex strums.

Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumental virtuosity, and improvisation based on a combination of harmonic structure, the use of scales and occasional references to the melody.

Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chords of a song or instrumental musical piece. Like its analogs – printed books or pamphlets in English, Arabic, or other languages – the medium of sheet music typically is paper. However, access to musical notation since the 1980s has included the presentation of musical notation on computer screens and the development of scorewriter computer programs that can notate a song or piece electronically, and, in some cases, "play back" the notated music using a synthesizer or virtual instruments.

Accompaniment is the musical part which provides the rhythmic and/or harmonic support for the melody or main themes of a song or instrumental piece. There are many different styles and types of accompaniment in different genres and styles of music. In homophonic music, the main accompaniment approach used in popular music, a clear vocal melody is supported by subordinate chords. In popular music and traditional music, the accompaniment parts typically provide the "beat" for the music and outline the chord progression of the song or instrumental piece.

A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music. Most bandleaders are also performers with their own band, either as singers or as instrumentalists, playing an instrument such as electric guitar, piano, or other instruments.

In jazz, comping is the chords, rhythms, and countermelodies that keyboard players, guitar players, or drummers use to support a musician's improvised solo or melody lines. It is also the action of accompanying, and the left-hand part of a solo pianist.

A rhythm section is a group of musicians within a music ensemble or band that provides the underlying rhythm, harmony and pulse of the accompaniment, providing a rhythmic and harmonic reference and "beat" for the rest of the band. The rhythm section is often contrasted with the roles of other musicians in the band, such as the lead guitarist or lead vocals whose primary job is to carry the melody.

Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a tour. Session musicians are usually not permanent or official members of a musical ensemble or band. They work behind the scenes and rarely achieve individual fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders. However, top session musicians are well known within the music industry, and some have become publicly recognized, such as the Wrecking Crew, the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and The Funk Brothers who worked with Motown Records.

A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments at a professional level of proficiency.

A jam session is a relatively informal musical event, process, or activity where musicians, typically instrumentalists, play improvised solos and vamp over tunes, drones, songs, and chord progressions. To "jam" is to improvise music without extensive preparation or predefined arrangements, except for when the group is playing well-known jazz standards or covers of existing popular songs. Original jam sessions, also called "free flow sessions," are often used by musicians to develop new material (music) and find suitable arrangements. Both styles can be used simply as a social gathering and communal practice session. Jam sessions may be based upon existing songs or forms, may be loosely based on an agreed chord progression or chart suggested by one participant, or may be wholly improvisational. Jam sessions can range from very loose gatherings of amateurs to evenings where a jam session coordinator or host acts as a "gatekeeper" so that appropriate-level performers take the stage to sophisticated improvised recording sessions by professionals which are intended to be broadcast live on radio or TV or edited and released to the public.

In its broadest sense, the head of a piece of music is its main theme, particularly in jazz, where the term takes on a more specific set of innovation. In other types of music, "head" may refer to the first or most prominent section of a song. The term may, though obtusely, be applied to classical music, insofar as classical pieces generally bear similar thematic elements, but the preferred term in this instance is (main) theme or subject. The term "head" is most often used in jazz and may refer to the thematic melody, an instance of it in a performance of the song, or a more abstract compilation of ideas as to what the song is. It may also, though uncommonly, refer to the first section of the melody, or the theme riff in the melody.

A rehearsal is an activity in the performing arts that occurs as preparation for a performance in music, theatre, dance and related arts, such as opera, musical theatre and film production. It is undertaken as a form of practising, to ensure that all details of the subsequent performance are adequately prepared and coordinated. The term rehearsal typically refers to ensemble activities undertaken by a group of people. For example, when a musician is preparing a piano concerto in their music studio, this is called practising, but when they practice it with an orchestra, this is called a rehearsal. The music rehearsal takes place in a music rehearsal space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lead sheet</span> Musical score describing the essential elements of a song

A lead sheet or fake sheet is a form of musical notation that specifies the essential elements of a popular song: the melody, lyrics and harmony. The melody is written in modern Western music notation, the lyric is written as text below the staff and the harmony is specified with chord symbols above the staff.

A pickup group is a group of professional musicians, which may be session musicians who are hired to play for a limited time period—ranging from a single concert or sound recording session to several weeks of shows—before disbanding. Pickup groups are formed to play in pit orchestras for musical theatre performances, operas, or operettas, accompany jazz singers or instrumental soloists, and act as a temporary backup band for a pop singer for a tour. As well, pickup groups are hired to perform at social events such as weddings or holiday parties. The size of these ensembles ranges from a three- or four-member rock ensemble or jazz group or classical chamber ensemble to a 20-piece jazz big band, a 20-27 member pit orchestra for a Broadway musical or a 30-100 member orchestra.

Jazz improvisation is the spontaneous invention of melodic solo lines or accompaniment parts in a performance of jazz music. It is one of the defining elements of jazz. Improvisation is composing on the spot, when a singer or instrumentalist invents melodies and lines over a chord progression played by rhythm section instruments and accompanied by drums. Although blues, rock, and other genres use improvisation, it is done over relatively simple chord progressions which often remain in one key.

An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performer. It typically involves the performer displaying their talent through a previously memorized and rehearsed solo piece or by performing a work or piece given to the performer at the audition or shortly before. In some cases, such as with a model or acrobat, the individual may be asked to demonstrate a range of professional skills. Actors may be asked to present a monologue. Singers will perform a song in a popular music context or an aria in a Classical context. A dancer will present a routine in a specific style, such as ballet, tap dance or hip-hop, or show his or her ability to quickly learn a choreographed dance piece.

This is a list of jazz and popular music terms that are likely to be encountered in printed popular music songbooks, fake books and vocal scores, big band scores, jazz, and rock concert reviews, and album liner notes. This glossary includes terms for musical instruments, playing or singing techniques, amplifiers, effects units, sound reinforcement equipment, and recording gear and techniques which are widely used in jazz and popular music. Most of the terms are in English, but in some cases, terms from other languages are encountered.

In instrumental music, "faking" is the process by which a musician gives the "...impression of playing every note as written" in the printed music part, typically for a very challenging passage that is very high in pitch and/or very rapid, while not actually playing all of the notes in the part. Faking may be done by an orchestra musician, a concerto soloist or a chamber musician; however, faking tends to be more associated with orchestra playing, because the presence of such a large music ensemble makes it easier for musicians who "fake" to do so without being detected. A concerto soloist or chamber musician who faked passages would be much easier for audience members and other musicians to detect. Orchestra musicians at every level, from amateur orchestras and youth orchestras to professional orchestra players will occasionally "fake" a hard passage.

Ilse de Ziah is an Australian cellist currently living in Cork, Ireland. She performs within multiple genres of music including baroque, classical, contemporary, popular music, film music, jazz, rock, self-composed works, and the folk music of Australia and Ireland. She is known for her arrangement and creation of repertoire for solo cello and especially for her adaptations of Irish traditional tunes and airs for solo cello.

References

↑ Foy, Barry (2009). Field guide to the Irish music session : a guide to enjoying Irish traditional music in its natural habitat. Rob Adams. Seattle, WA: Frogchart Press. ISBN 978-0-9817590-1-2. OCLC 740079172.