What is “sitting in”? Sitting in is one of the best ways to network and let other players know who you are. If you do it enough and do it well, before you know it, you will be in the band that has other players sitting in, or you could be asked to join an original project. But sitting in with a bunch of musicians you have never played with, or even met before, can be daunting and a bit scary. This can be especially true at a jam session where you put your name on a list and wait to get called up. It is a necessary evil for all musicians to go through, and it must be done because you can only practice in your room by yourself for so long — you have to get out and play!
The reason that sitting in is not only scary but also great, fun, and eye-opening is that as much as you think you can handle anything, inevitably you get thrown in with either musicians who are not very good or you have to play a song that you have never heard before, is boring, or is very hard. That’s how it goes most of the time. It’s luck of the draw, but you still have to put up with the bad to eventually get to the good — and the good can end up being really great! You just have to be patient, persistent, and prepared.
The Three Ps
Patience — good natured, tolerant of delay and incompetence
Persistent — never ceasing
Prepared — equipped with necessary intellectual resources, made ready beforehand
Have the patience to keep your cool and wait for your chance to shine. Be persistent enough to keep at it and not give up. Be prepared by practicing and learning as much as you can.
Another tool you really need to have in your toolbox is the listening tool. You need to be able to listen to what your fellow musicians are playing around you while you are doing your thing. Our ears and brain are amazing things. You can be playing and hear the next section of a song coming before it even gets there. The key is to study, listen, and learn a lot of music. This should be a part of your daily practice routine. Most music has some formula to it, and as you study, you will be able to pick up on those formulas. They will start to get internalized, and you will be able to sense changes coming.
In closing, when you do finally get your chance to sit in, listen well to the musicians around you, use the three Ps, and you’ll find that you can shine in any situation.