Starting a jam

[Jkf_Alone]

with so many people chiming in lately about jam disasters and nightmares, I wanted to know how I might go about starting a jam. Some basic questions

1. what is the jam coordinator expected to do?
- how do you keep the ball rolling
- how do you limit style and type of song
- how many tunes should you have in reserve for slow downs?
2. big jam or several small ones?
( groups of 2 to 5 or 10 or more?)

and any other tips would be helpful.

[Jim Broyles]

I believe that that you can have a goal in mind but the jam is going to go in whatever direction it goes kind of on its own. If you say that only a particular style will be allowed it may end up going nowhere. In our bluegrass jam, bluegrass is preferred but we do a lot of folk rock and country songs in a more or less bluegrass style. We haven't had to deal with any horn players or that type of thing, but you always get the occasional old hippie jammer who wants to do a bunch of 60's stuff in a folk rock style. One of our best players loves Merle Haggard so we do some Hag songs every now and then. We try to do them all in a sort of bluegrassesque style to keep it somewhat in keeping with the stated intention of the jam. Every now and then a country song gets vetoed but that usually only happens at the end of the night when we want to go home on a high bluegrass note, and the one who calls it is not made to feel inferior, it's just that we want to do a "real" bluegrass song to end the night.

[MikeEdgerton]

Start with your friends and then branch out. Your friends probably have friends. Let it be known they can be invited as well.

You need a comfortable place with parking and restroom facilities for the people coming.

As the host your most important job is to be friendly. No matter how you might feel that day try and smile and make everyone feel welcome. People generally respond to with what they get. People don't just come for the music they come for the camaraderie.

[Jkf_Alone]

I'm not really thinking of a bluegrass jam, as their aren't that many grassers in my area. More of a general acoustic thing. a friend and i have been thinking of doing some beginning guitar / music clinics to help our area become more musical, and the jam may start with that ( if it ever gets off the ground) http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[GRW3]

If you want a place to eat, try to find a place that has a live music permit already. The local Border's used to have 'open mic' nights until they were busted by the Charles Fox Agency.

You could try a Church or Community Center but remember you will need to police what can be sung.

Sounds like what you want is a song circle more than a jam. A jam usually relies on a type of music as the basis for everybody playing together. In a song circle you could get some play along but it's not required (but should be allowed).

Just remember the primary rule, song choice moves clockwise one song per participant per circle. (You can have alternate singers just make sure the circle moves from the chooser not the singer.)

[Joe F]

One important point: #If you find a coffee shop or someplace similar willing to host a jam, please support them by buying something -- a cup of coffee, a donut, anything -- every time you're there, and encourage the other jammers to do the same. #Jams, especially large ones, take up space that might otherwise be used by paying customers, and by supporting them this way, they will be encouraged to continue hosting the jam.

There is a local old-time jam in St. Paul every Saturday morning that meets in a coffee shop that wouldn't otherwise be open on Saturdays. #In fact, on festival weekends when most of the regular jammers are gone, the owner keeps the place closed. #Buying something every Saturday is our way of saying "thank you."

[JeffD]

Just remember the primary rule, song choice moves clockwise one song per participant per circle. (You can have alternate singers just make sure the circle moves from the chooser not the singer.)
Ours is more random, because nobody really wants to hog. So if someone starts a tune, and it fits, we all just go with it.

We were thinking of instituting a repitition rule - how many times do you play a given tune. We were going to say you play it the amount of times as you have people that know the tune and are playing along. So if only one other person is playing the tune, you would play it twice. If everyone is playing along, well by all means keep going. And if you are the only one playing, no problem, but you only get to play it once.

I think most of the rules come about to rectify a specific situation. So you might start out totally open, and then because of some obnoxious telecaster player, you move to accoustic only, and then because of some obnoxious tongue drum drummer you say no percussion, and then because of some obnoxious Greatful Dead uber fan, or Broadway show music fan, you move to "traditional music only"...

[Purplebee]

Here in NW AR, a number of the Chambers of Commerce have sponsored "Pickin' in the Park" (mainly by doing a little publicity for the events with a short writeup in the local papers) at outdoor venues during the nice weather.
A few of the larger towns/cities have weekly jams, usually every Friday or Saturday, and my smaller town has a "last Saturday of the month" jam at the City Park. #We also use the American Legion Hall which is close to the park in one of the larger towns during the winter, and folks throw some change or a couple of bucks #in the kitty to pay the $25 rental for the building, we always have more than enough to pay for the night's rental.

It's fun, the parks are usually large enough to support a number of different groups without stepping on each other musically. #It is usually restricted to acoustic only. #The jams usually contain 3-10 people, depending upon who is there, go clockwise, and each person sings one song or does one instrumental number, some folks just like to play along and opt to skip their turn in the spotlight.

Sometimes the individual jams evolve into folks that play together regularly as a group, or else sort out into different genres, but other times there is a mix of skill levels and genres.

A flyer posted around town or handed out to businesses in the area will help to encourage folks to come and pick or to listen if it is a new venue.

Also have a friend who hosts a monthly jam at his house, but that's by invite only.

Good luck!

Chris

[Mike Snyder]

Best to have room to branch out if the jam exeeds 8-10. If you don't want telecasters and elec pianos, better specify acoustic only. Keep the coffee hot. Smile. Have fun.

[Dave Reiner]

Good luck! #For what it's worth, here's a pointer to the #Jam Guidelines (http://www.reinerfamilyband.com/fiddlehellmassac.html#Jamming) that we use at Fiddle Hell Massachusetts, where fiddlers from a variety of backgrounds and styles meet up for jams and workshops.

Dave

[mandroid]

There was an open [not BG only] Jam at a cafe - tavern , for a short while
the servers looked at their tips received at the jam, musicians bought beer but the servers had the key to the door , and shut the jam down early when they did not personally benefit enough, and one of them was a musician,[ though a singer / pick up guy in a rock band, [ad hoc-irregular] .]

[Mattg]

Every Jam I've been to has done song choices and breaks in a counter clockwise fashion.

[f5loar]

clockwise,counterclock,backwards,frontwards,sidewa ys.... any of these can get out of hand and you get to much "I'll pass" because they know they can't cut it. Best way I have found is the chaulk board method. As the pickers come in they sign in on a chalkboard. You take your turn that way and then you know when your turn comes around again. Don't want to showcase? Don't sign in. Can't do that person's song? Don't play at all. Annouce your song, the key it is in to give others a chance to participate or not. Pick songs that are common. Pick something like "Texas Lone Star" and expect to do it solo. Refreshments and bathroom a must. Smoking not permitted in the jam circle.

[allenhopkins]

In my experience, there are several different kinds of events that are grouped under the broad heading of "jam." #Here are some of the ones I frequent.

[1] #Our local folk club in Rochester, Golden Link, has sponsored a Tuesday night sing-around for the past 37 years. #It's free, open to everyone, and decently publicized. #Chairs in a circle, the club designates a leader for each Tuesday. #Once a month there is a theme ("Songs About Places" last Tuesday), once a month a "chorus and sing-along" night, other two nights "open sings." #If there's a fifth Tuesday, as happens four times a year, we have a members' mini-concert. #Leader calls on each person in the circle to do a song (or tune, but it's mostly songs), suggest one, or pass. #The extent to which the rest of the group participates on any song varies; sometimes it's almost like a solo performance, sometimes there's general singing and playing along. #We go 90 minutes, take a break, then finish up with another 45 minutes. #Attendance varies from a dozen to 35 or so. #We have a donation cup to cover rent of the room in a local church, and to underwrite coffee and cookies.

[2] #The Ontario County Arts Council sponsors a monthly "bluegrass jam" in Canandaigua. #There's a stage, a sound system, and people can sign up to perform. #Other attendees often get up informally to back up the designated performer, who's usually a singer. #There's an area away from the stage where informal jams spring up. #Despite the designation, the music tends toward old-style country, perhaps more than bluegrass. #There's an area with tables where the audience sits. #Some of the organizers bring pot-luck dishes, and performers and audience members get to eat. #The Council charges $2 admission, musicians free. #Despite the designation, this event seems more of an "open mic" than a jam, though there is a fair amount of informal music-making away from the stage. #Council members try to organize who gets to go on stage when, and how long they get to play, but it's pretty loose. #Competent back-up musicians can usually stay onstage as long as they want to support a succession of singers.

[3} #Several bar/restaurants in the Rochester area have monthly Irish/Celtic "seisuns" under the general sponsorship or encouragement of the local chapter of Comhaltas Celteori Eirann (excuse my pseudo-Gaelic spelling). #These have no leaders; musicians sit in a circle, sometimes with a bit of an audience on the outside, and take turns starting tunes, everybody joining in if the spirit moves them. #Generally tunes are only played three times through, and there are no "breaks" per se, as is typical of these jams. #It's fairly common for someone to start a tune that no one else knows, and play it through three times nearly "solo." #On the other hand, you can get near-unanimous participation in an O'Carolan planxty or The Wind That Shakes the Barley. #Songs are not excluded, but generally kept to a minimum. No admission is charged, but the participants and audience avail themselves of the food and beverages provided by the club. Sometimes there will be a designated "slow" or "introductory" half-hour at the beginning, for new or less-experienced musicians to learn or practice tunes.

Three templates for what could be generically called a "jam." #Very different, and I'm sure that the features of one type that would attract certain musicians, would repel others. #None of them is exactly what other posters think of as a "bluegrass jam." # What I hoped to show is that there are various ways to organize informal music making/sharing, and that the one you choose probably should depend on the facilities you have, the musicians you hope to attract, and the genre of music with which you're comfortable.

[Mike Snyder]

A jam located in a place of business will have some issues that don't exist at a park, meeting hall, sr citizens center. Church basements are usually good too. Profit margins are slim these days, and payin' the help to stay open late for a jam is probably a looser. In a public place, the clean up crew can make or break. If you cause extra work for some low level custodian, waiter(ess),care-taker, and don't make it worth his(her) while...trouble. So pick up the place, put tables & chairs away, be a good citizen. Everything you really need to know, you learned in kindergarten. Play nice. It's gonna be OK.

[JeffD]

A jam located in a place of business will have some issues that don't exist at a park, meeting hall, sr citizens center. Church basements are usually good too.
If you are up to it, a jam in a public location is, in my opinion, the way to go. A coffeehouse or bar or restaurarant or in the park (weather permitting) - all exposes the general public to the existance of accoustic traditional music. A church basement, private house, back room of a library or community center, keeps us somewhat hidden from the general public.

Public jams have to be more clearly defined to avoid inappropriate musical "walk ins". On the other hand you could well "discover" new musicians to play with as they "discover" you by casually walking by. New musicians bring new energy, new tunes, new connections.

Private jams have the advantage of the "just us" factor, which is a comfort to some new and even veteran jammers. They can suffer from stagnation, however, because without a lot of advertising, you don't get any new blood.

I have done both, and prefer the public jam myself.