Jam Management

Time management is crucial to what makes or breaks a successful jam. For those of us who don't jam in their homes or whose band members' time schedule is as tight as a pigeon's ass (yet one wonders how they stuff it with all this rice), we don't have the luxury to simply lay back and go about playing some random riffs, showing off, chit chatting and socializing with each other. That is how many of our jams were reduced to and we had to figure out a way to deal with it. So recently I came up with a system that tries to maximize efficiency to make the best out of jams.

1- Monitor Your Wiring

Wiring could be a huge time waster! By the time you get your gear out, plug it, tune it, show your band mates that you can play the first riff of that Dream Theater song that has been mind fucking you for days, talk about your latest conquest @ free porn websites etc... Before you could notice; a good 20 minutes may just fly by. When we first timed our wiring it took us around 20 minutes and with little discipline and practice; wiring at one point only took 5 minutes! That is 15 more minutes of practice! Since we jam twice a week that actually makes up for one extra jam session per month! So .. Zip it!

2- Breaking Down the Setlist

Through weeks of practice you will notice that your band doesn't play all the song equally as good. Sometimes that is for apparent reasons where a member or more are struggling with a particular technique, the band has some synchronizing issues or for non apparent reasons such as one or more of your members are just psychotic and don't seem to get THAT FUCKING LINE NO MATTER WHAT!!!! IT'S BEEN A YEAR ALREADY GOD DAMN IT!!!!!

ermmmm... Anyway; here is what we do. I divide the songs into two basic categories. Songs that are "In the Closet" and those are the songs that we can play 100% even if we are blind (Usually we play those once just to make sure) as well as songs that are almost done and don't have major issues such as lack of tightness or extremely poor output (Usually we play those two consecutive times).

Other songs that are new to the setlist or that require a lot more work are included in the other category, "In the Works". These are songs that require special attention and since El Tekrar ye3alim Al 7omar; I usually pick two songs that are In the Works and play them until we fucking hate them! It's important to keep taking notes, recording your performance (with a good mobile or a camera just to keep track) and discussing the issues with the tracks. Once you feel comfortable with a particular track promote to the In the Closet category and celebrate!

Conclusion

One wishes that he had the luxury to practice all day whenever the mood is right but the facts are; jam sessions are the allocated time all band members agree is dedicated to, first and foremost, getting things done! We don't have our own studios and we don't have a lot of money. Remember that when you see those bands that perform soooo fucking good live it's due not only to skill but also to hard work and practice. These bands are professional musicians who give a lot of more time and dedication to practice than we could possibly afford and that is why in the little time that you have (we jam only 5 hours a week), you must make the best out of it. You mustn't, however, forget why you are there which is often a challenge. Remember to enjoy yourself and the Music. That is what it's all about for us, right?