Austinmusic.fun is website that supports the Austin Music Connection on Meetup.com as an information and link hub. The purpose is to connect people together to have fun making music.
Here’s a set of groups that we wish to support in this endeavor…
A Core Group
A core group is a group of people who will work on a specific set of songs in order to (a) improve their musicianship, and (b) achieve a better sound through working with the same musicians.
The core group will share some musical tastes. The person who leads a song is responsible for determining instrumentation, vocals, harmonies and any other musical arrangements.
Most of the music will be repeated at the next session, with new musical pieces introduced and older ones de-emphasized over time.
We’ll be looking at organizing a core group in the near future, possible centered on classic rock.
Sing-Along
A sing-along consists of people bringing in music (or using a stock set of music). Each person in turn selects and leads a song.
Song Circle
A song circle is similar to a sing-along, but is more focused on each individual. In turn, each person tells us what he/she wants on a song – – which song, who plays it, who sings it. One of our members wrote a really good description of a Song Circle. Here it is:
“What I am looking for is a song circle instead of a jam session. I was part of a group up in Seattle that was just that, and I loved it. Basically we all sit in a circle and take turns sharing a song or whatever you’re working on. On your turn, if you prefer to go solo great, but if you want you can invite 1, 2 or all of the group to join in. The point is it is your choice. You can try out an original song and ask for feedback. You could be trying to learn a new song, but can’t quite figure out one part, so ask for help. But the main point is getting used to playing in front of others, and sharing your songs and performances with the group.”
We held a song circle in January, and it will be repeated.
Open Mic Prep
Who wants to do an open mic, but you want to do it with somebody else (or multiple somebody else)? We’re going to start connecting people who are interested in doing open mics.
Consider also sending us a message through the Meetup website.
Improvization
I’d love to have someone write a good description of an improvisation session for music. It’s not my forté, but several people in this group have expressed an interest. I’m helping organize one, but I’ve written the date as “December 31, 2020.” That’s not the real date – – when I get about 10 people interested, I’ll move forward with it (as I figure you need to have at least 5 to make it work, and with scheduling stuff its hard to find a time that works for everybody).
Here’s a link to the recruiting efforts so far:
https://www.meetup.com/Austin-Music-Connection/events/267888589/
See also “Jam Session” below.
Jam Session
“A jam session is a relatively informal musical event, process, or activity where musicians, typically instrumentalists, play improvised solos and vamp on tunes, songs and chord progressions. … Both styles can be used simply as a social gathering and communal practice session.”
A Band
Yeah, yeah, yeah! That’s right! Some people want to form a band who will play songs together whether for fun or to improve and move forward with music. Although Austin Music Connection is one possibly place to find other band members, another Meetup group is probably a better place to get it together. Here’s a link to “Let’s Start a Beginner’s Band.”
https://www.meetup.com/Lets-Start-A-Beginners-Band
I’m not seeing quite what I’m looking for…
Not finding what you want? There’s a great Meetup group in Austin called “Let’s Start a Beginners Band.” It’s not just for beginners, but for others, too.