Supporting Live Music. Do you?

[Randy Stein]

The one thing we miss most in these times is attending live music events. Orchestras, jazz clubs, pub jams and performances, cafe and restaurants with piano, guitar or whatever. We also attended swing dances,  plays, poetry readings, museum lectures, etc.

Fortunately, technology has created venues for musicians and artists. The best thing about online presence is now I can attend a show or lecture  in Rio or Dublin or NYC. 

For many professional musicians, there is a major loss of income and artistic outlet. Many artists, musicians in particular, have turned to online venues to perform. Some do so for free, some ask for donations and others require a ticket purchase. Jams still take place via Zoom, Jamulus, and other online apps and sites. 

Do you take advantage of these online opportunities? Do you still support live music and the musicians?

If so why. If not, why not?

 

[David Barnert]

I, for one, have in the past year been enjoying and supporting both folk and classical musicians/organizations, as well as live theatre. It’s money I would have spent anyway on exactly those pursuits.

[JimR]

Late last year, the Musical Instrument Museum (mim.org) had a test concert of a local Blues player, Hans Olson. MIM chose the seats for ticketholders beforehand, and alternate rows of seats were blocked off. I enjoyed that show. The MIM has since put on several but not many additional shows, similarly spaced. I will attend more.

 

If you find yourself with a free day in the Phoenix area of Arizona, visit the MIM. It is an incredible place.

Edited February 23, 2021 by JimR
added content

[Syncopepper]

I have been visiting chanty sings and folk clubs via Zoom in the US and UK about three time a week during the pandemic. I live in a part of Michigan where English and Maritime music are not popular. It's nice to meet more people with similar interests.

 

Sound and lack of corroboration are Zoom shortcomings so they are more like open mics and listeners stay muted and play along if they wish. These sessions are well attended by both professional and non-professional musicians. It appears that some Zoom sessions are wholly online entities that did exist as pre-pandemic organizations. I wonder if some of these may have a life after the Pandemic's end?

 

Some of these sessions have links to their non-profit web-sites, where one can easily donate. The donations heIp support musicians.

 

Edited February 27, 2021 by Syncopepper

[Kathryn Wheeler]

The thing I miss most is jamming with/accompanying others and technology doesn’t really make that very possible. Latency issues and mostly because of that not really being there in the moment feeling.  I haven’t done any zoom sessions because people play their party pieces  “in series” and there is none of that involvement and participation musically that I so miss. That said I like to watch bits of the videos after and the chat can be good during! 
 

I’m not very good at sitting and listening to things for long periods passively but I have found it nice to be able to dip in to performances as and when I fancy it, rather than one long sitting.  So watching videos made after a live stream is good!

 

I also like festivals online because you can still get on with stuff during your day but also jump in and watch a bit with a cup of tea and then catch up with other bits during the following week.  
 

So the increase in this type of broadcasting has been great   Festivals in a field can be too much and overwhelming and I have often wished I could press pause!

Edited March 1, 2021 by Kathryn Wheeler

[David Barnert]

1 hour ago, Kathryn Wheeler said:

The thing I miss most is jamming with/accompanying others and technology doesn’t really make that very possible.

It's not possible with Zoom or Webex or other “conferencing” software, but there are several packages that claim to be able to decrease the latency issue to tolerable, if not imperceptible, levels. The more of the following constraints you are able to meet, the more likely you’ll have a satisfying session: Ethernet cord connection to your router rather than WiFi, external audio interface (or at least an external microphone) rather than the computer’s built-in, headphones or earbuds (wired, not Bluetooth), cable or fiber optic (rather than DSL) ISP connection, computer on wall power rather than battery, nobody else in your house using internet simultaneously.

 

Two apps that I have experience with are JamKazam and Jamulus. I’ve been jamming regularly with other members of these forums and others. We started on JamKazam but found it too unwieldy and switched to Jamulus, which is working well. If you search the forums for those names you’ll find several threads, and of course there’s plenty of information out on the web.

1 hour ago, Kathryn Wheeler said:

Latency issues and mostly because of that not really being there in the moment feeling.

Of course it’s not like being there in the same room, but it’s surprisingly satisfying.