Troll - Posted - 09/12/2014:  12:18:59

Hi all....

I've been asked to guest-host a weekly jam at a local music shop. I am looking forward to it. I want it to be fun, inclusive, and open to players of all levels. I don't want it to turn into a free for all, or into an "all-grassers-all-the-time" session (or any other genre for that matter) - I'm looking for a wide variety of songs, instruments,and people. I'm also wary of the session being hijacked by the best players, or by a clique of friends. My experience is that many jams eventually get hijacked and people feel excluded or don't feel like they can bring something new to the group.

I'd very much appreciate some of your thoughts on what has or hasn't worked in your experience. What would you do that is unique? How can you keep it fresh and ensure players are excited about showing up each week? How do you keep a good rotation of new music?

I'd appreciate responses from players of all levels....thanks in advance,

-Tom

UsuallyPickin - Posted - 09/12/2014:  13:10:03

1. Have round robin song suggestion. People can pass if they want to.
2. Have the player introducing the song pass the breaks around by eye contact so players don't step on each other.
3. As the host you need to maintain control on electric instrument volumes. If percussionists come they need to be muted.
4. If a person does not know a song or what key it is to be played in they need to choose another song.
5. Lyric and lead sheets in electronic or paper form are acceptable.
6. A song choice need to get started within a minute or two. Messing around with lead sheets and an Ipad are not acceptable.
7. If people want to talk fine, but they need to leave the playing area to do so.
8. A songbook to get the jam started say twenty copies of thirty tunes can be a big help.
9. No continuous noodling throughout songs by any player in the circle. This interferes with the music.
10 Post your rules and suggestions on the wall.

Jim Yates - Posted - 09/12/2014:  13:13:16

A lot depends on the format of the jam. 

A jam with only players (no audience or sound system) works well if you go around the circle, having each person choose a song.  This is how some music store and recreation room jams I've been involved in work.

In a venue where there is a stage, sound system and audience, more an open mic than a jam, it's good to have a sign up sheet and let the number of potential players dictate the number of songs or length of time allotted to each player or group of players.

donthacker - Posted - 09/12/2014:  13:45:46

I would add that as a facilitator, go out of your way to make people comfortable picking their song, at their tempo and encourage the more advanced players to stay and support them for the song or two that they choose. If the more experienced players play 3/4ths of the songs 'up to speed' where the beginner can't do much, but the beginner got to really play on 1/4 of the songs at a speed/difficulty level they enjoyed, it would still be a very fun jam for them and a great learning experience.

Texasbanjo - Posted - 09/14/2014:  05:29:17

You should also have some rules about:

1.  No smoking

2.  No drinking.

3.  No children?  This one is a sticky wicket but sometimes people bring their kids and the kids run amok. 

4.  Food or no food?  Again, this can be a draw for some and can cause a mess that someone has to clean up.  And if you decide to have food, you will have to have paper plates and plastic utensils, napkins, you will have to prepare coffee and tea -- it ads an expense to your jam.  If it's in your place of business, you may already have coffee and tea, but it's still an expense to you.  If you decide to have these things, think about a nominal charge or "donation" for each jam to help defray expenses. 

5.  Hours for the jam.  Set hours and close at that time.  Otherwise, the jam may go on until the wee hours -- and that's okay, if that's what you want. 

6.  Allowing jammers free reign in your shop.  This may not be a good idea.  While most jammers may be good, honest people, some might decide to help themselves to your wares.  Have the jam in a closed room away from your goodies. 

We've had jams at people's houses, at a church, at the VFW, at a music store and I know what can and does happen, so that's why the above "rules".  Use what you wish, discard the rest. 

slowhand - Posted - 09/14/2014:  16:49:19

A successful, thriving, weekly jam can take many forms. Ultimately, the format, protocols, etc., will be based on a consensus of the musicians who show up on a regular basis. So my advice is to worry about getting musicians coming on a regular basis before worrying about the things you list.

I have my doubts that "a wide variety of songs and instruments" will work. In my experience, bluegrassers will come to a jam that's primarly bluegrass songs, or songs that can be adapted to the bluegrass style. Bluegrass lends itself well to jamming because the chord changes are fairly simple and easy to follow. If a third of the jam consists of what they would consider "jam busters" then they'll probably lose interest and stop coming. And bluegrassers tend to hate things like spoons and tambourines, and also harmonicas, if they're played ineptly, which they so often are.

I regularly attend a weekly bluegrass and a twice-monthly old time jam in my area, both of which have been thriving for years. The two jams are quite different in almost every respect. There is very little overlap among the musicians who attend them. I'm one of only a handful who attend both on any type of regular basis.

At the bluegrass jam, they take turns around a large circle choosing a song to sing or an instrumental to play. Anyone can kick off an old time fiddle tune, and pickers will take turns taking breaks around the circle.

The old time jam is nothing but fiddle tunes, with a core group of fiddlers sitting in a small circle, surrounded by banjos, guitars, a bass, and the occasional mandolin. There are no solos played; everyone plays the tune at the same time. Singing is rare, and usually just on the shouters like "Sail Away Ladies".  There is usually a minute or two of discussion between tunes, and then one of the fiddlers (in no particular order) will kick off a tune.

Both jams are held in bar/restaurants. Alcohol is available and consumed by those who wish to. Minors in attendance are accompanied by parents or guardians. At both jams, there are non-musicians who come just to hear the music.

The people who attend these jams regularly enjoy them immensely. And that's why they continue to thrive. I know bluegrassers who have tried the old time jam and didn't like it, and vice-versa. But it works out fine because they attend the one they like and avoid the one they don't.

My point is that if your goal is to make the jam appeal to all kinds of musicians, it will probably end up appealing to relatively few.

GalenB - Posted - 09/14/2014:  17:35:43

Great thread. Here's a couple random thoughts assuming its a circle jam....

Encourage fairly standard songs, regardless of the genre. If the guy with the 3 ring notebook shows up and tries to dig his way through Wichita Lineman and modulate to C#m on the last verse, its going to cause too many people to drop out. If you don't know your song well enough to play it without a book, how do you expect the average guy to jam with you?

If you have a lot of beginners who can't hear the chord changes, but insist on playing the last chord for 2 or 3 measures until they finally get on board and change, try having someone, in an encouraging way, call out the changes or signal with fingers (1,2,3,4,5,6, 7) until everyone gets it. This will help everyone ear train, and make for smoother transitions.

If an arrangement has chord changes too fast and some folks are having trouble keeping up, encourage them to do muted percussive strums; add something positive to the music,

Unless you are hosting an old time jam where everybody wants to play melody all the time, encourage one lead break player at a time. Communicate as much as needed if someone wants to pass, but don't skip people. Make sure on vocal tunes the singers are comfortable adding extra breaks so the pickers get a change to do something.

Watch out for the noodlers (especially old country guys) who want to play little lead licks all the time over the vocalist.

Beware the groups of friends who show up, pick obscure songs no one else knows, sit adjacent to each other, and create a 3 or 4 song block of songs they do in their band and don't pass the leads to anyone other than their friends.

Good luck, the world needs more good jams.

Jim Yates - Posted - 09/14/2014:  21:45:34

Galen said, "Beware the groups of friends who show up, pick obscure songs no one else knows, sit adjacent to each other, and create a 3 or 4 song block of songs they do in their band and don't pass the leads to anyone other than their friends."

I guess it depends on the jam, but I love to hear/learn tunes I've never heard.  In fact I'd probably not return to a jam where the same tired old war horses were played all jam.  I do agree that a group of people can ruin a jam by taking it over, but if you go around the circle, there will be songs that everyone can take part in.  I don't mind sitting out a song or two if I'm not contributing. 

It's always nice to say, "The second chord is a C dim and there's an A7 right after the C," if there's something tricky about the song.  A common announcement before a song/tune at the local BG club is, " The off chord is Em."

GalenB - Posted - 09/15/2014:  05:49:47

I like to learn new songs too, and I personally enjoy watching and listening. I just hate to see people who want to jam get alienated and not come back because they feel excluded.

I think an open jam, in a public place, that is going to be open to all levels, should be inclusive and encouraging. It's a time to make music with others. Open mic: do your own thing.

A last suggestion on volume; if you can't hear the lead or even vocal, you need to play quieter.

pizmo - Posted - 09/15/2014:  14:42:40

I agree with you Galen 100%. And I hate to say it, but grassers are usually the worst at this type of behavior at a jam from my experiences. Now everyone, don't get in a total uproar because I have been to some decent bluegrass jams as well. I also enjoy just sitting back and listening at times. And that in itself is an art form that should be learned by many when they don't know what the heck they are doing.

Troll - Posted - 09/18/2014:  07:57:42

Thank you for the replies - some good suggestions.



There are a couple of thriving Bluegrass jams in the area, so I want to expand into other territories. But the point is well-taken that if we try to be everything to everybody....it's likely that the jam will not gain momentum. We do (and will continue) to have a loose round-robin format where the players can choose the song, speed, key, etc...I have thus far been fairly successful at keeping things moving along. So far we've had several people come out....but only a handful of regulars. But It seems to be slowly growing. We have players and listeners, both.



We do have a sound system at our disposal - I may try to incorporate some performances into the format. Perhaps we can open with 30 minutes of a person or group to perform some pre-arranged material. And then open it up from there (thoughts??). I like the songbook idea in order to have a common source of material that is diverse, yet accessible to all players.



I do have concerns about allowing players free reign in my friend's shop. He's not always there, and has some nice inventory. There have been a couple of people that have shown up without instruments, and seem to feel entitled to pick something off the wall and play it all night. The owner doesn't seem to mind, but I'm a bit uncomfortable about it.



My only other concern at this point are jam busters. We do have one that shows up and plays original songs that are impossible to follow - so it turns into a performance....and not a good one. I'll have to take him aside and let him know that this isn't that place for original songs.



Thus far, I'm not overly worried about the interaction between advanced and beginning players. The few advanced players are very nice, helpful and patient with the beginners. I'll let this develop naturally and intervene in the future if necessary. I'm hearing from all of you that communication is key. I probably need to step in a bit more there, although I don't want to be a dictator.



Again - thank you for all the replies. I'd like to continue hearing from more people on what goes right/wrong at jams which you attend.



One last thing...I've recently been informed on another site that my moniker (Troll) is an internet-slang word for someone who is argumentative and hijacks threads with disagreeable comments. I was told to be careful what I post. I guess I'll chalk it up to being old(er) and out of touch - LOL. But the name is actually a hybrid abbreviation of my name - Tom Roller. I've been using Troll in my correspondence for years.

I guess this explains why I don't get many Christmas cards....it all makes sense now. Ha! Anyway, no promises, but I'll try not to be too argumentative.

-Tom

GalenB - Posted - 09/18/2014:  09:20:13

I admit, I thought the same thing when I first saw your handle, but haven't seen that behavior on here. So then I just assumed you lived under a bridge and spent your days harassing passing billy goats! :) Glad to see I was wrong on both counts.



Hope your jam continues to go well. I think most of us don't want to get the reputation of Jam Boss. Good luck.

 

Edited by - GalenB on 09/18/2014 09:21:05

slowhand - Posted - 09/18/2014:  11:32:48

Thanks for the update, Tom. Please continue to let us know how things develop.

blueridge - Posted - 09/25/2014:  05:04:59

When I first saw your handle, I thought "An honest man" :-)

Your behavior certainly does not fit the Internet slang. You have some of the most thought provoking posts on this forum.

Mike

Troll - Posted - 10/08/2014:  11:00:32

Some follow-up......

Over the past few weeks, we have had a consistent small group of players show up. And it's actually a fairly diverse group. Three guitars, a mando, bass, accordion, percussionist, one or two fiddle players, harmonica, and occasionally a keyboard player. We also have a small group that comes just to listen.

What we have done over the past few weeks is to take four or five songs and completely arrange them into a performance-ready type of status. We may spend 30 minutes putting a song together and may repeat is three or four times.

It's been very enjoyable for all. I've kind of been coordinating the arrangements, but there has been a nice give and take with others weighing-in as well. This has been a benefit to the less advanced players as it allows for repetition, and also gives them some satisfaction in being able to completely learn a song and feel like they have made a significant contribution (which they have).

It's also allowed us to do some more diverse and advance music since we can spend some time explaining the changes and working out the rough parts. The more advanced players have opportunity to freelance somewhat by playing in alternate keys and working on more nuanced fills and solos. We've also had some harmonized solos between multiple instruments.

The player that I mentioned earlier who only knew his original music has had an opportunity to learn some other stuff, but we've also arranged one of his songs into a very nice ensemble piece. He was ecstatic about it.

This is not what I or the store owner had in mind, but its been fun for all. As to whether or not this is a sustainable model for a long-term jam with a rotating group of players, I doubt that it is.....but who knows. I know that everyone is really enjoying the format, which makes me believe that more players will eventually attend - which may in turn, make this type of a jam difficult. But we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

I'll keep you posted.

-Tom

Pickinlips - Posted - 10/13/2014:  10:06:09

9. No continuous noodling throughout songs by any player in the circle. This interferes with the music.

I have to get better glasses. I thought you wrote no "nodding" at first. I was trying to figure out how this would interfere with the music. I've met some pretty severe people at jams before, but for the life of me I couldn't figure that one out.