In less than two weeks it’s time to start Jamuary. I’m planning to participate again.

Before then it’s time to practice. I recently acquired some new modules for my synth that I need to learn more about using.

Let’s Jam, Together⌗

There are a few things I’m planning to do differently this time. The biggest change is that I’m hoping to collaborate with some other musicians on the weekends. Great things can happen when you work together on a song with limited time. I’m going to be asking friends to join in to do something similar but obviously a smaller production.

If you’d like to collaborate, either in person or remotely by sending stems back and forth, please reach out to me. Let’s make some music and have some fun!

Other things I’d change⌗

  • I’d like to use the prompts more. I know they’re just suggestions but I mostly ignored them last time.
  • I’m planning to keep the core of a patch or setup across multiple days but vary it each day. I did that some days in 2024 but I’d like to be more intentional this time around. I spent a lot of time restarting from scratch.
  • Review the audio and video recordings carefully before tearing down. A couple of times I was stuck with a recording that had problems that could have easily been fixed in another take, had I realized.

Some ideas that worked last time that I’m keeping⌗

  • Keep it short. No one has time for a 15+ minute jam. I did occasionally record a longer jam then edit it down to only the best parts.
  • Keep it simple. Some examples:
    • 4 bar loops aren’t my usual thing but if it lets me finish a jam quicker I’ll do it.
    • Choose a simple song structure: verse/chorus, ABA or AABB are all great.
    • If I don’t have time for synth, keys and drums then drum loops on the computer are fine.
  • Use a project template with sensible defaults.