Andy Aledort's - Jam Night - Volume 1

You raced home from the day gig, threw the button-down in the hamper, pulled on your favorite Stones tee, kissed the wife and kids — you’re out the door ‘cause it’s jam night down at the Big Al’s! The Strat is freshly strung and you’ve worked all week on the tunes they usually call out and so maybe, just maybe this will be the night that you actually bring the guitar in and sign up on the sheet.

But of course, you get there and see all the regular dudes laughing it up on the deck, getting ready for their call to the stage, your chest tightens up and once again the guitar stays in the trunk and you join the rest of the guitar players in the audience who also wish they had the confidence and chops to take the leap and sign the sheet. Some day… maybe.

Every player here at TrueFire, every player we know, and every one of the world-class artists that we’re so privileged to work with, including the author of this Jam Night series, has been exactly in that same spot at one time in their playing career. It’s a rite of passage. Thanks to Andy Aledort and this brand-spanking new Jam Night series, this rite of passage is going to be a breeze for you. Here’s why…

Andy equips you with the three most important skills you need to take to the stage; command of the popular song list, a diverse rhythm guitar vocabulary, and the ability to improvise solos over popular song progressions.

1. Command of the Popular Song List

There are really only 30 or so songs that are called over and over again at the local jams — they’re the ‘standards’ of rock and popular music. You don’t need to learn them note-for-note like you would for a cover, but you do need to be familiar with their basic structure.

2. Diverse Rhythm Guitar Vocabulary

You’ll be playing a lot of rhythm guitar at the jams. The better your rhythm chops, the more you’ll get asked to the stage because EVERYBODY loves to play with a strong rhythm section. Again, while your rhythm parts might be inspired by the original recorded version — you MUST bring some originality and diversity to the bandstand to keep things interesting over what could be a 15-minute jam on that song.

3. Improvising Over Popular Progressions

Jam songs are selected because they’re familiar to players and audiences alike, AND they provide an interesting and very jam-friendly progression to play over. Your blues chops will certainly be helpful BUT they won’t take you all the way there. You MUST be able to navigate your improvisations through a variety of other 3- and 4-chord progressions.

In this first volume of Jam Night, Andy guides you through all three of the above elements for 10 of the most popular jams patterned from the progressions and grooves similar to Jumping Jack Flash, The Shape I’m In, Beast of Burden, Into The Mystic, The Weight, Down By The River, I Got You (I Feel Good), La Grange, Blue Sky and One Way Out.

For each of these popular jams, Andy will first overview the vibe, structure and progression of the tune. He’ll then demonstrate and breakdown two rhythm guitar approaches, and then two lead guitar approaches — 20 rhythm approaches and 20 lead approaches in all. Everything is tabbed and notated, plus you’ll get all of the rhythm tracks to work with on your own.

You’ll pick up countless new rhythm parts and lead moves to pack your jam bag with from the performance demonstrations alone, BUT the real gold is found in the breakdowns for each of those demonstrations because what you’ll learn there can be applied everywhere.

Important to note that while Andy is one of the most prolific and accomplished educators of our times, he also walks the walk. Andy loves to jam and does so frequently anywhere and anytime he gets a chance to do so. You’ll find him at the local jams in his own community when he’s not out recording or touring with the Who’s Who of blues and rock artists. Andy knows exactly what is needed on the jam stage and that’s exactly what he delivers in his Jam Night series.

Your rite of passage to the jam bandstand is now just a click away…