Listen to the music

[Banjo_Dave]

I have been out of the loop for a while, been practicing some, but not on line. Went to a jam last night. Mostly county music. Older people, some quite good, some like me not so good, but great group and they support everyone. Playing banjo I watch what the guitar and dobro players are doing. I know what key a song is in, but sometime have trouble catching the right chord on the change. some songs are straight forward, some are not, so I watch the fingers of the other players to know what chord to change to. Not always a good thing as they are sometimes wrong. I find if I listen closely, it is better than watching. Am I the only one that does this? There are a couple of accordion players there too. I know what you are thinking, but they are having fun with what they like too, just like a banjo player. They play in the key of F a lot. I guess that it gives me some chord theory lessons on the spot trying to play the right chords. What I am getting at is that listening is better than watching. Lesson learned by me this weekend.

 

[PapaRaptor]

I have been out of the loop for a while, been practicing some, but not on line. Went to a jam last night. Mostly county music. Older people, some quite good, some like me not so good, but great group and they support everyone. Playing banjo I watch what the guitar and dobro players are doing. I know what key a song is in, but sometime have trouble catching the right chord on the change. some songs are straight forward, some are not, so I watch the fingers of the other players to know what chord to change to. Not always a good thing as they are sometimes wrong. I find if I listen closely, it is better than watching. Am I the only one that does this? [glow=yellow,2,300]There are a couple of accordion players there too. I know what you are thinking, but they are having fun with what they like too, just like a banjo player. [/glow]They play in the key of F a lot. I guess that it gives me some chord theory lessons on the spot trying to play the right chords. What I am getting at is that listening is better than watching. Lesson learned by me this weekend.

I was thinking these must be wonderful, fun people!  I've been known to drag out the old 120 bass myself, abusing the hearing of all within earshot!

 

[Rancid Rumpboogie]

I played rhythm guitar in a working band for a couple of years with a lead guitar player who played left-handed and upside down like Hendrix ... and the bass player was his brother.  We would often get into an impromptu jam at our gigs ... and I never knew what "crazy Leon" was going to do next.  Looking at his hands only crossed my eyeballs up and addled my brain, so all I could do was LISTEN and PRAY.  Well, praying didn't accomplish much (must have pissed God off somewhere along the line), so I learned to LISTEN.

 

[CaptainMoto]

My 2 cents:
Music is about listening.
If you can follow somebody else with your ears you're doing great.

 

[Banjo_Dave]

Thanks for the replies. I am trying to listen more. I did jam with a left handed guitar player at a bluegrass fest parking lot in July & it was a brain twister, even though I am a lefty, but play right handed.

 

[FishKiller]

Ear training is very important, when you can just listen to a song, and pick your guitar up and play it, to me that's the "holy grail" of playing guitar.

Today is international left hand day.
I have jammed with a lefty guitar player for over 3 years now, and at first I could not look at his hands, then he told me to think of it as looking in a mirror, and after that I had no more problems.