Re: "Noodling" at Sessions
My interpretation of "noodling" is making any sounds other than what the leader / organizer has decided should be played. Might be a sign of boredom while waiting for a decision, or trying to figure out / recall the tune about to be played, or trying to impress the lady in the short skirt... Done loudly, it's obnoxious, discourteous, and distracting. Done quietly, it happens, and, assuming the purpose is valid, is more or less tolerated. Done very quietly, most won't even notice (banjos need not apply!).
As someone who recently bit off the "2nd mandolin challenge'' in my mandolin orchestra (after 6 years on guitar), one statement really hits home:
Originally Posted by
PhillipeTaylor
... But "playing along" when you kind of sort of "know" the tune is perfectly acceptable at "most" sessions.
Absorbing, kind of sort of, several dozen 2nd mando parts at once has been, yikes, a challenge! But I've been good at playing quietly when appropriate.
- Ed
"Then one day we weren't as young as before
Our mistakes weren't quite so easy to undo
But by all those roads, my friend, we've travelled down
I'm a better man for just the knowin' of you."
- Ian Tyson
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