What makes a great jam...
A jam is simply all about having fun making music together.
The reason for jam etiquette, rules, or guidelines, is to make it easier for everyone involved.
Here are some simple general guidelines we suggest you follow.
Hope this helps you have a great time.
The reason for jam etiquette, rules, or guidelines, is to make it easier for everyone involved.
Here are some simple general guidelines we suggest you follow.
- Set yourselves up in a circle. There may or may not be a designated leader, but often one will emerge. The leader's role would be to facilitate the smooth running of the jam.
- If this is an open jam, that means people can join without invitation, so a briefing from the leader on the etiquette would be a good idea - hopefully this only has to be done once, at the beginning.
- If this is a closed jam, that means jammers are in the circle by invitation. If you come across a jam at a festival or some other venue, stand back and observe for a song or two. You'll get the mood of the jam and how they are conducting it. You may be invited to join, or you can ask to join.
- To ensure everyone gets equal participation (and equal fun) it is a good idea to follow the circle around, with each person having a turn to name a song/tune to play. Normally this person would either "take the song in" (start the song), or ask a particular person to take it in, and normally the one who selected the song would sing lead on the song. The lead singer may invite certain members of the jam to sing harmonies. If that happens, it's most polite to not double up on a part without invitation. (Sometimes it's a good way to learn, by doubling up on a part, so ask if you want to do that.) In some jams the harmony singers come naturally, often signaling with a nod that they are wanting to sing harmony on the song. Here's where a little self control might be in order - it's fun to sing harmony but give others a change to do it too.
- Don't look at the playing of these songs as performance - this is a jam. That means "throw the formal arrangement out the window", and make space for everyone to have a chance at least once to play a lead solo if they wish. Do that by going around the circle starting at the person who takes the song in. If there are 3 verses there are at least 3 opportunities for solos, and you can choose to have more than one instrumental solo between verses (unlike how you would arrange a song for performance). Sometimes the jammers are having so much fun on a song you might want to add a full round of solos at the end, and throw in a repeat of the chorus before ending the song.
- If a jammer doesn't want to sing a song, but knows someone else would sing a song he/she wants to play on, there's no problem in saying that for your turn you'd like a particular song and name (request) someone else to sing it.
- It's ok to "pass" if a jammer doesn't want to take a turn naming a song, or playing a solo.
- Jam-busters can be a downer. Don't suggest a song that is too difficult to learn on the fly. Also, stay in tune, in time, and outline chord sequences for "new" songs before starting the song.
Hope this helps you have a great time.
If you want to read another take on jam etiquette, here is an interesting and informative page: https://www.southwestbluegrass.org/2017/10/23/jam-etiquette/