![]() ![]() The other section has a helpful set of guidelines on In-Person Jamming at Fiddle Hell - many of these apply to online jams as well. Jamming is a great way to meet new friends and create spontaneous music together! The first section, which is new, is about Online Jamming. Your jamming skills will improve over time. Seek out jams at the right level and in a style you can play. If you don’t want to continue with a jam for any reason, split off and start your own. Step aside to tune or converse at length.ġ4. If you want to suggest the next tune, say it, don’t start noodling on it.ġ3. This isn’t the time to show your virtuosity, practice tunes you don’t know, or raise the noise level in general. It’s common to raise a foot (or yell “out”) to indicate the last time through.ġ2. Whoever starts a tune determines when it’s over. If not, nod to another player to step in and finish the break.ġ1. Don’t throw in every lick you know! If you screw up part of a break, keep going if you can. It never hurts to play melody on a break. Indicate that you’d rather pass this time by shaking your head no, or avoiding eye contact in the first place.ġ0. Indicate your willingness to take a break by smiling, nodding, or stepping forward. At jams with breaks, such as bluegrass jams, the lead singer or the person who started the tune calls the breaks by nodding at players or raising an eyebrow, or shouting out a name or instrument. Ask what tunes they know, keep tempos down, and help them out where you can.ĩ. It takes courage to join in and play along, and many players don’t have much jamming experience. Oldtime sessions with clawhammer banjo players usually stay in a chosen key for quite a while.Ĩ. Whatever the level, it’s a common practice to mention any strange chords, crooked parts, or other structural oddities before starting a tune. Or a player may really want to teach everyone a new tune. That being said, advanced players like to challenge themselves, and may throw anything out. A large jam with multiple levels of players isn’t the time to trot out a complex, obscure tune. Tend towards choosing tunes that are common or at least easy to follow. For jams where many players are playing together, such as oldtime, the goal is to converge and lock in on a common version, getting tighter as the tune is repeated.ħ. Support singers or soloists don’t play over them or back them up disruptively. Listen to the other players! Watch them, too. Be conscious of the level of a jam before jumping in at full blast. But it’s generally fine to stand or sit on the periphery (“outer circle”) of a jam, playing along quietly (perhaps learning the tune!) and not getting in the way. Sometimes you may be invited to join an ongoing jam. ![]() Good taste is better than raw speed any day! Keep the beat.ĥ. If tunes are falling apart rhythmically, it’s better to slow them down. It’s good manners to let the person calling a tune start it at his/her tempo, Sometimes a group may agree to play a tune slowly at first, and then speed it up. Some jams are rather speedy! Occasionally, jams are designated as “half-speed” or “slow.” Beginner jams are also slower. Jams may vary in their choice of tempos, usually depending on the level of the players. On the other hand, some players play multiple styles, and their jams may wander among styles (which may be fine, or may cause problems).Ĥ. An Irish jam shouldn’t suddenly change into a Southern Oldtime jam, or a bluegrass jam into a Scottish jam. Other jams have no fixed leader, in which case the tunes are often selected and led by the players in some order, such as going clockwise around the circle.ģ. Leaders call or coordinate the selection of tunes, including medleys, and may call out arrangements on the fly. Some jams have a leader (either appointed or de facto). Players take turns playing instrumental breaks: Bluegrass, Swing, Texas, Blues, Rock stylesĢ. All players play together just about every time through: Southern Oldtime, Irish, New England, Scottish styles It’s a good idea to observe which type is happening before you jump in: There are two fundamentally different types of jams, usually (but not always!) depending on the style. Here are some rough guidelines from jamming experience to help you out.ġ. Please don't jam where the signs say "No Jamming Here." At the "Official Jam Spots" marked in the hallways, it's ok to jam at just about any time. Many informal jams spring up in the hallways, in function rooms not in use, and even outside. It’s a great way to meet new friends and create spontaneous music together.Īt Fiddle Hell, we have many instructor-led jams that are listed on the schedule, and which are usually oriented towards certain styles and levels. ![]() Many of you are here to join in on the jam sessions. Guidelines for jamming at IN-PERSON Fiddle Hell ![]()
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