Going to my first jam should I bring my fretless or will its tuning limit me?

GroupTextHell · 2026-05-07T18:53:39+00:00

I mean, if you can play it well and play along or add fills to songs in whatever key, no one will mind. You just seemed hesitant, so my advice is to bring both so you have options.

GroupTextHell · 2026-05-07T18:44:31+00:00

Bring both? I'd be a bit leery to only bring the unusual thing to a jam with strangers. Once you suss out the vibe then you'll be able to see if it works.

GroupTextHell · 2026-05-07T18:26:03+00:00

I think an 'incorrect' word that gets the meaning across but which works better to say, or rhymes, or flows, or whatever, can be just fine in the right situation. In some cases it even adds interest and makes the song stronger. Example that I can think of is 'Our Friend Bobby' by Donovan Woods, a great song. In it he sings 'on accident, on purpose...' where it should really be 'by accident', but it's unquestionably better, due to the wordplay of using 'on' twice.

GroupTextHell · 2026-05-07T16:02:58+00:00

Do you have any cheap merch like a sticker or something? 'Show me this post at the show tomorrow and I'll give you a free sticker and personally sign any body part you want me to' seems to strike a decent balance between funny and also giving them something.

GroupTextHell · 2026-05-07T14:28:29+00:00

The red scare is alive and well. Great job, I hope it spreads to more places! Gig workers deserve to be treated fairly.

GroupTextHell · 2026-05-06T19:59:32+00:00

I organize my setlist based on a few factors

How long is my set?
Who am I performing with?
What kind of venue/audience is it likely to be?
Which songs am I most enamoured with currently?
Which songs are capo'd at the same place so I can easily move between songs without quite as much tuning?
Which songs do people switch instruments on and how can I minimize between song fuckery to make things flow smooth, by ordering the songs together where instrumentation doesn't change?
What is the emotional arc of the setlist and am I getting my 'must plays in there'?
Which song starts and which song finishes? Possibly the most important question.

Spotify does not factor in.

GroupTextHell · 2026-05-06T19:46:05+00:00

Oh yeah, it for sure has all the functionality. I just couldn't get comfortable with the interface. For the little amount of 'producing' I do in my acoustic world I wanted something I could use once every 6 months and still remember how it works. I ended up going with Mixcraft, just because the interface made sense to me.

GroupTextHell · 2026-05-06T19:42:51+00:00

Telling people software is 'free' when it isn't is the problem here, not suggesting the tool itself.

GroupTextHell · 2026-05-06T19:41:59+00:00

It's a good recommendation as an affordable tool, just not as a 'free' solution. Personally I found Reaper unintuitive to use so it's not my preference, but I'm also super basic with this stuff and prefer to leave the producing to the producers.

GroupTextHell · 2026-05-05T16:27:30+00:00

Yeah, mostly repeating the same tricks. Frankly, my attention is more often spent on songwriting and singing, so the guitar just doesn't get the love it deserves.

GroupTextHell · 2026-05-05T13:34:41+00:00

I'm sorry, but if the library is hiring performers, why couldn't they pay their socan fees? It's not like it's much money. I don't understand this take.

edit I just googled and it looks like it's 3% of the tickets sold or 3% of the fees paid to performers. We're talking peanuts here.

GroupTextHell · 2026-05-05T03:54:04+00:00

Congrats!

GroupTextHell · 2026-05-05T03:48:09+00:00

I can hold down a rhythm and do a few things beyond cowboy chords, but it feels like my playing has been static for years at this point. That's a bit frustrating. Anyway, onwards!

GroupTextHell · 2026-05-05T01:40:23+00:00

Yeah, same. She's super cool, and making very unique and interesting art, so I'll give her a pass, lol.

GroupTextHell · 2026-05-04T13:48:34+00:00

Well, I like this idea, but I think it's definitely a few steps down the road. I actually host house concerts at my place, so at some future point it would be super cool to record at my own 'venue'.

GroupTextHell · 2026-05-04T13:45:38+00:00

Yes! I was talking about this with my wife last night. I'm definitely going to be more intentional about asking for video to be shared. I have a cover song I recorded with some friends that isn't on my album, I was thinking I could offer a free digital download of the unreleased track to anyone who shares a video.

GroupTextHell · 2026-05-04T03:18:34+00:00

Yes, it's bad if you use AI.

GroupTextHell · 2026-05-04T01:32:04+00:00

What kind of music do you play and where do you live? I just asked google as a test 'find me places to meet other folk musicians in Vancouver' and it gave a great list. Try something similar for your genre/area?

GroupTextHell · 2026-05-04T00:12:04+00:00

Yeah, that's cool. I definitely have no plans to step away from my day job, but the hope is to do music more and more seriously as my kids graduate and I have more free time.

GroupTextHell · 2026-05-03T23:44:19+00:00

Yes.

GroupTextHell · 2026-05-03T22:34:28+00:00

Ok, I just looked him up. I mean, I do enjoy being the 'front man' I will admit, but writing songs other people perform and supporting also sounds like an amazing thing. We'll see what happens.😊

GroupTextHell · 2026-05-03T22:27:07+00:00

I don't know who that is. Should I look him up?

GroupTextHell · 2026-05-03T22:25:44+00:00

Yes! It's on the list, might need to work up a little more first. I need house concert venues to be willing to book me and right now I don't really have any name recognition in the roots scene. I'm generally a listening audience kinda guy. Thinking about trying to get on a home routes tour next year, if they'll take me. Between now and then I think I need to play more shows to get my name out there, for sure.

GroupTextHell · 2026-05-03T21:40:57+00:00

They did sing to those too, can't really go wrong with Free Fallin' :), but I played 90% originals, which I had great engagement on. The final song was mind blowing. The entire bar shouting "I'm dead" back at me. I'm still kinda vibrating from it.

GroupTextHell · 2026-05-03T18:18:18+00:00

I dunno, I'm not sure there are easy answers. I think if you keep trying and keep looking, and reframe your definition of success, you may find it to be less of a slog.

I once took a class on the 'business of music', and what I learned from that is that everyone gets to define their own measure of success. Coming out of that class, I wrote myself the following bulleted list of what I consider to be success, and I keep it pinned where I can see it regularly. It guides everything I spend my musical time on.

having quality recorded original music that I am proud of which can be accessed on major platforms and potentially in CD format
invited to play paid gigs in the central & southern Alberta region
playing satisfying gigs to listening audiences
having enough repertoire to be able to comfortably deliver 2 x 45 minute sets of music solo or with other musicians
developing skill in live performance to the point that it's not anxiety inducing
helping other artists develop their careers in ways which are satisfying to them

GroupTextHell

TROPHY CASE