Great session tonight. Thanks all!
A little Jingle Bells to start with, particularly focussing on the 1 2 3 … 1 2 3 … (“Jin-gle-bells”) rhythm. Then a little Silent Night (in A) thumb picking. The chords were coming thick and fast but how good were the players, sticking at it and identifying cluey efficient ways to play (thanks Joy!).
Then the main focus: we’re playing at KLUB MUK on Tuesday 1 December and our key song is Venus! So, we worked our way through the whole thing. The key is the Em –> A –> Em –> A engine that chugs along through 80% of the song. I’ll admit it’s a jump up from a C F G7 strum-a-long but boy I was happy with the effort folk put in. Reuben nailed the strumming of the initial ‘call’ chords like a pro (‘down up, up down, down up, up down, mute’, for those interested). Nina in the orchestra is on the ball too and looking to provide the riff at the end of verses in support.
Hmm…I can’t really dress as a goddess myself. I wonder what will be appropriate? Better check what those dudes in Shocking Blue were wearing again. Early 70s rock?
PS. In the orchestra session we went through Venus as well, concentrating on the trickier bits, and then a little Bill Withers with ‘Lean On Me’ and the lovely effects you can get with sliding up and down the neck using major and minor 3rds.
See you all on the 17th!