Jam Sessions, the soul of the city

As I said in my article "ESN Music Project : I did a concert with several bands", I had noticed during my research that the city of Groningen was very much oriented towards art and especially music. Many bars in the city seemed to organize Jam sessions. That's what I noticed once over there. I will share my experience with you.

So when I arrived in Groningen, knowing no one and even less musicians, I obviously turned to the Jam sessions that the city organized. It was very easy to find some good addresses on Facebook as the concept is so popular in Groningen.

But what is a Jam Session by the way? It's very simple.

A jam session is a meeting of musicians who improvise on stage in front of an audience.

The first jam session I attended was the USVA jam session. This place organizes a monthly Jam session open to all. This event allowed me to meet several musicians and collect other good addresses. Moreover, it is thanks to this event that I heard about ESN Project music (refer to the article in question).

By the way, I have been noticed by the organizers during this first time, which allowed me to appear on one of their promotional pictures.

I haven't missed any of these monthly meetings all year round.

In addition, it was once again with the USVA that I later took comedy improvisation classes (refer to the article in question).

Jam sessions were organized throughout the year in different pubs in the city. Often some of the places were so atypical that I had the opportunity to play jazz with professional Dutch musicians.

For others, it is often the same people who are used to it. Here are some good addresses that I had the opportunity to test:

- USVA jam session (every month)

This very international place, dedicated to students, has a bar and a fully furnished room. Accessible to all levels of musicians, it is also possible to come if you just want to listen good music.

- New Orleans Jazz café (every Tuesday)

A very atypical and intimate place, this Jazz café is not very popular with students but much more with professionals. The level is very high. You will be sure to meet some very good musicians.

- Café the Crown (every Thursday)

A fairly small place, there is no real stage area but it makes things more user-friendly. You will feel like you are playing in the middle of the tables.

- From Drie Gezuster (occasionally)

I mentioned this bar in my article "My 10 favorite place in Groningen".

The Drie Gezuster occasionally organizes Jam sessions for major events such as the Christmas Jam I have been part of. I highly recommend this place to you especially when you know that it is the biggest pub in Europe.

To conclude, Jam sessions were first of all for me, a first approach to music in Groningen. Then it was regular meetings that allowed me to relax and play with high levelled musicians.

Finally, know that there is nothing more beautiful in an Erasmus experience than successfully realizing your hobbies abroad. It gives you a feeling of pride and opens up many horizons.

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Here you can find the videos of the Jam of the Drie Gezuster :

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/199bc4_991989c815224ac7979507d169b83dbc/480p/mp4/file.mp4

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/199bc4_0833eb87cc7b4a3eb978e40e507804eb/480p/mp4/file.mp4

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/199bc4_946b7a3c3993418f91edace9cfead8d5/480p/mp4/file.mp4

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/199bc4_8880aa48cc914d7c95627a28d053fda0/480p/mp4/file.mp4

ESN Music Project: I did a concert with several bands

Since I was a child, Music has always been with me everywhere. I started playing drums at 7 years old, did many concerts in Paris with my band, recorded songs in music studio, in other words it was impossible for the story to end here. This is one of the reasons why I chose Groningen.

By applying for Groningen, I could notice during my research that the city was very much oriented towards art and especially music. Many bars seemed to organize Jam sessions regularly. This was confirmed as soon as I arrived and even outstripped my expectations. However, the Jam sessions have their own article in this blog (to learn more about the different jam sessions in the city, please refer to the article in question). Here the article tells about my unforgettable experience in the ESN Music project.

It was during one of my first Jam session that I met a bass player, Clément, who told me about the ESN Music project he had registered for and which was about to close. For the "anecdote", I talked to him all evening before I understood that he was French. You will tell me "Clément", I might have known. But anyway, let's get back to it.

The ESN Music Project, is an extraordinary concept organized by ESN (again ESN wouuaa !), which allows young musicians from Groningen to meet, to create bands, to rehearse, with the final objective of a concert in one of the biggest music halls in the city. All this for free.

Thus, it was at the beginning of October, that I went into music studios for the first time with the objective of finding a band.

By talking with musicians, I managed to get in touch with different people (again, from all over the world) which allowed me to join 3 different bands for 6 different songs.

The rehearsals followed one another in a music studio still founded by ESN. It was a very formative experience because even if I am used to rehearsing in the studio, rehearsing in English is something else, beginning with the vocabulary. The" jargon" of the musicians is not the same from one language to another but at the end the music takes over and what comes out of it, is as diverse as the members of the band.

As time went on, these musicians became my friends who accompanied me throughout the year.

And finally, the day of the concert came. On December the 1st at the Simplon Poppodium a concert hall with a capacity of 400 people.

It's been an incredible night. Music bands followed one another during a 3-hour set-up. I went on stage to play with the 3 different groups (Bowie, Muse, Red hot, Amy Winehouse, 21 pilots).

As usual, I experienced the feeling of the stage during a concert night, but for the first time this feeling was increased by a combination of pride and accomplishment. I had succeeded in achieving one of my first goals - making music abroad.

To conclude, I will never forget this experience that allowed me to do my first concert here in Groningen. Rehearsing, building a song, playing on stage, the experience is completely different abroad. This has definitely allowed me to progress and has opened many perspectives for me.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/199bc4_2d53a1d64ae44d32bce1db41e0bc7e00/720p/mp4/file.mp4

As I write this article, a second ESN music project is being prepared in which I am actively participating. This experience will be, I am sure, as incredible as the previous one.

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Here find some videos of the songs I played during the concert :

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/199bc4_b74235d07da148e38aa3a9d7bdbc2679/360p/mp4/file.mp4

David Bowie- Modern Love

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/199bc4_32a05fed510b47c69b57cde3b2f44761/360p/mp4/file.mp4

Twenty one pilots- Ride

Improv comedy in USVA, on stage to improve my English

Theater as well as music has always been part of my life. It gave me this oral ability, which is one of my biggest asset. However, the challenge in the Erasmus experience was to be able to keep this fluency even in English. I will tell you here how improv comedy class has contributed to a significant improvement in my English.

It was in December, after having attended the regular USVA events that I made the decision on a whim to enroll in improv comedy classes. It was like a challenge for me and a way to dive into the English language without safety net.

Without a safety net? Not completely!

In fact I knew that I was pretty good at theater and that the others would probably be much better in English than I was. So I convinced myself to use my theatrical experience to overcome my difficulties in English. That seemed like a good strategy.

However, the first day of the class arrived. Despite my strategy, which seemed well constructed, I was afraid.

The course was given by two Dutch teachers and was built in two parts. Space games and the improvisation in front of an audience.

This first course is probably the most memorable in terms of anecdotes because I had to get out of several difficult situations.

However, once on stage, everything seemed to disappear in the characters' shoes and become easier. My strategy seemed to work.

Class after class I became more confident and the exercises seemed easier to me. My vocabulary was growing and especially my comprehension.

The group was very nice and we used to go out for a drink after each class. Once again, this was an activity that provided a great opportunity to meet people.

To conclude, it is very difficult to explain all the difficulties that this challenge happened to be, as the level of English in the course was so demanding for me. However, I do not regret having made this choice because it was a very formative one. It enabled me to prove once again that I could surpass myself and above all, it was a wonderful experience.

Finally, do never forget that the best challenges are those that you set for yourself, especially during an Erasmus experience "I never lose I either win or learn" Mandela.