When you're at a big jam

[Jonathan Peck]

When you're at a big jam and there are several other mandolin players there...Do you:

A) Lay way back because your part is already covered while waiting for someone to throw you a break

B) Play along quietly while waiting for a side jam to open up

C) Play a simple chop and help the bass player out

D) Strum wildly and ad to the confusion

E) Do whatever you want because hey, your there to have a good time.

[MikeEdgerton]

F) Play a chop cord and wait your turn for a break.

If there are that many mandolins somebody is sure to throw you one.

[JeffD]

Yea I agree with F, you want to play audible chop chords, to establish that 1) you can play and 2) you want to play.

Laying back or playing too softly will signal that you are not sure enough of yourself to take a break.

[250sc]

G. Find a smaller jam because jams with more than 5 people aren't often any fun.

[Joe F]

I attend mostly old-time jams. #More often than not, I'm the only mandolin player there. #I will usually switch between playing the melody and playing open chords (If I'm sitting next to another mandolin player, we usually alternate those roles). #When someone is singing, I'll play quiet chop chords; not quite as percussive as in a bluegrass jam.

[250sc]

G. Find a smaller jam because jams with more than 5 people aren't often any fun.

[claytonstewart]

H. Bag the mandolin playing and become the token bad & uncoordinated dancer?

Honestly, I think option C is pretty realistic. They'll throw you a bone if you're willing to wait your turn and help out...

[Kevin Briggs]

I choose... F!

[fwoompf]

I. Get distracted by the attractive banjo player, lose rhythm, embarass self during break, classic moment. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/blues.gif

[Chris "Bucket" Thomas]

What type of jam? #Old Time or BG? #That would make a difference.

At the Monroe style camp' the instructors (Compton, Long, White & Gorman) stated numerous times in different classes that the chop most likely started in the early 50's when the band's rhythm section was weak (i.e. it started to help keep the band in time). #I listened to the "classic band" a little bit more closely.... there are a lot of open chords in there.

David Long had a class on this very subject. #He plays LOTS (almost all) open chords when playing back up. #It was great to watch and try and absorb. #He mentioned that you might be asked to leave an old time jam if you chop since that is not what was done originally. #He stated that his goal is to help state the melody with his open chords and therefore you should know the tune well to vary the rhythm well and change chord voicings.

[Peter Hackman]

I've said this before:

I love to jam. But not at jams.

[good_ol_al_61]

Good Question Crunch...this happens every other Tuesday night here.

Ususally I lay back and meet and greet the newcomers in the audience. Then I play some chops while standing next to the bass player. About 9:30 the crowd thins out then I jam hard for about an hour. But usually one of the the players yell out "sandbagger" and they shame me into doing a song or two. All in good fun. All of the guys are great here in Jacksonville. Several hang out occasionally at the cafe.

[JeffD]

What type of jam? #Old Time or BG? #That would make a difference.

#He mentioned that you might be asked to leave an old time jam if you chop since that is not what was done originally.
I agree and disagree. I assumed the original post was about a BG jam.

If old timey, I would say that if you don't know the tune, its best to sit it out, or play some chord accompaniment. If you know the tune, play it out.

Where I disagree is that I have not seen anyone asked to leave an old timey jam for chopping, or doing anything not traditional. In all my time I have found old timey jams to be very very tolerant.

[Tom C]

G) I'd take the "C" train up town.

[mandopete]

J. I pull out the capo and turn into a piccolo mandolin.

[steve V. johnson]

K. ? Find other chord inversions or voicings, or find harmony lines to play. Or... maybe in BG there's only one way to play stuff...

I don't know about BG jams, really ...

In Irish or oldtime sessions, playing bouzouki, octave mando or guitar I capo to a different timbre or find different chord voicings. With mandolin, I try to find different ways to voice the chords or harmonize.

stv

[Santiago]

First thing you do is listen.

[sgarrity]

I pull out my guitar and play rhythym and take a break when I can. I've been playing more and more guitar lately at jams. Seems like there will be 3-5 mandolins and maybe one guitar player, if that.

[Gail Hester]

It sounds like that would be a good time to pull out your mandola. My husband does it all the time. A mandola provides a different voice and texture yet still fits in well with all types of music.

[good_ol_al_61]

Gail:

My thoughts, almost. I've talked with Steve Perry recently about a mandocello. May happen next month.

Now that would be funny in a bluegrass setting!

[Paul Kotapish]

It all depends on the jam. Big jams can work if everyone is really playing together and the group shares some common ideas about how to approach the music. Old-time fiddle music (and Irish, Scottish, Quebecois, Cape Breton, New England, etc.) can work very well this way.

Bluegrass sessions with multiple instrumentalists tend to work less well unless everyone is really, really tuned in and cooperative. In that situation I'd be inclined to grab a few other folks and split off and start a smaller session somewhere else--if there's space.

At big music parties around here there are often a half-dozen or more different sessions happening in different rooms--living room, kitchen, bedrooms, basement, hallways, laundry room, back porch--with each one focusing on a special interest--fiddle tunes, brother duets, gospel songs, Carter Family, Monroe songs, Irish tunes, slow old-time favorites, crooked tunes, etc. Folks swap in and out of sessions over the course of the evening, and hang out around the food-and-drinks tables in between to visit.

[fatt-dad]

Step one: Pick a jam where you can choose an appropriate response.
Step two: Don't do anything that makes folks complain.

I mean sometimes in a larger jam if there is a tune that I'm trying to get into my head, some quiet noodling is important. Trying to find the melody notes, the right chords, etc. Just takes discresion (sp). If I know the tune I'll just start to play notes, chords etc. Mostly I play in unison with old time folks. Sometimes the lead will go around the circle - again, it just depends. I still try to keep my antenna up to make sure that I'm not too loud, or otherwise dominating/annoying.

f-d

[Gutbucket]

Lately at the Bluegrass jams that I attend, the guitar bangers are showing up. These guys wouldn't know who Tony Rice or Doc Watson are if you showed them a picture. I think Pete Townsend is probably their main influence. Loud and obnoxious. And always walking over the person who is taking a break. All you can do is chop and chop hard. Or just shake your head and find another jam. What else can you do with these clods?

[GTG]

Isn't E the correct answer? What do you go to jams for? You sure aren't making any money off of them...

[pasturepicker]

What you do is recruit the players of duplicate instruments from the gangtwang to start a second jam in another area. It's a win/win situation. There are opportunities now for everyone to play in a better setting. Maybe there is enough players for 3 jam sessions.

[AlanN]

I have rarely cared for jams with more than one of anything #(unless it's Dawg, JR, etc.). The sound of two mandolins or banjos chopping time is painful.

Grisman's band, of course, pioneered the dual thing, but they stayed out of each other's way (that's a whole other thread).

Carry on.

[MikeEdgerton]

Isn't E the correct answer? What do you go to jams for? You sure aren't making any money off of them...

By chance do you play the harmonica? #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

Jam sessions can be many things. To the newcomer it might seem like everyone is there to do whatever they want and I guess if everyone there is of that same mind then so be it.

The better jams that I've been in contain folks that realize that each instrument has its own place and is part of the overall sound. Even if you have multiples of the same instrument each player will be part of the backup until it's their turn to step up and take a break. Jam songs tend to be a little longer as you like to give as many people as possible a chance to take a break. When it works it's great. When it doesn't it's usually because someone is doing whatever they want to and not trying to blend in.

[Perry]

The sound of two mandolins or banjos chopping time is painful.


Yes also two guitarists flailing away on G chords with both guitars out of tune is also quite painful (and very common) arghhhh!

[MikeEdgerton]

Tuning and playing the right chords are optional aren't they? http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[Mark Walker]

I've said this before:

I love to jam. But not at jams.
Pete - what are you getting at here? #(Serious question.)

I don't know that I 'love to jam' but I do NOT care for 'jams.' #I guess a definition of terms would be helpful. #I've been at 'jams' at various festivals where there's always one or two people whose sole intent is to 'snowball' less-talented pickers (like me), make them feel inadequate and make themselves look better. #As such, I've been very turned off at these sort of jams.

On the flip side, I like 'jamming' with - for example - my cousins who have a popular West-Michigan bluegass band. #They invite a few close friends and/or relatives in, no one gets 'snowballed' (they even play 'down' to the level of less-talented individuals to make them more comfortable) and it's a nice, intimate musical get-together. #

So - perhaps like you - I like to 'jam' but not 'at jams!'

Cheers! # http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[Jonathan Peck]

I guess it depends on the circumstances. I've been at plenty of jams where better players are very aware of who's pickin' and will kick off a tune at a tempo where everyone can join in. I've also seen them pick up the tempo so that 'problem' pickers will have to sit it out.

I find that the later it gets, the more likely it is that pickers want to get out of it what they came for...this might sometimes be at the expense of less some experienced players, put it's a good time to stop playing and watch and listen to the overall dynamic of what the music can sound like if everyone is on the same page.

You ever notice that when the experienced pickers walk away, for whatever reason, that a jam can fall apart pretty quickly.

-jonathan