NOTES ON JAMS AND JAM ETIQUETTE

Edward I. Pollak, Ph.D.

epollak@wcupa.edu

 Appropriate jam etiquette should ALWAYS be observed.  If you’re a novice, stay in the background & play quietly until you get the hang of it.  (This is the musical equivalent of "lurking.") No one is impressed by a newcomer (or old timer) who insists on playing over everyone else’s vocals and breaks.  Rules of etiquette tend to differ from jam to jam and especially between Old Timey and BG jams.  These differences will be discussed in more detail below.  It always pays to stay in the background for a half hour or so until you can deduce the rules. 

Failure to make eye contact with the group leaders:  People guilty of this sin cannot tell when the leader is giving them the nod indicating that they are to take the next break. Dobroists (AKA "TIFKAD players; TIFKAD = The Instrument Formerly Known as Dobro) are often guilty of this sin because they are so intently watching their fingerboards. Make a concerted effort to look up as a break or a vocal chorus is ending because that is when the leader may be looking for the next instrument to take his/her break. 

Noodling on your instrument between tunes: Between songs, many pickers are trying to tune their instruments and your noodling is just plain annoying. If your noodling is your attempt to practice something, move away from the main group and practice in a corner. If your noodling is an attempt to show everyone how good you are, rest assured it is unnecessary. A few well chosen fill-in licks will make point equally well.  If noodling is your way of covertly suggesting the next tune, you are better off taking the direct approach and overtly suggesting the tune. If your noodling is just a nervous habit, cut it out! For some reason, banjoists and TIFKADists seem to be most guilty of the sin of noodling. I'm not certain why that is but I've noticed that when I lay aside my fiddle and pick up my banjo, I find myself starting to noodle between tunes. Strange but true.  

No one has ever garnered any ill will by playing too softly or too little.  The worst that will happen in such a case is that the others in the group will chastise you for playing too softly and tell you to play more/louder.  That will make you feel good. But if the group members have to tell you to back off, you're likely to be insulted. This is unfortunate because it reduces the likelihood that you will return to that jam.  But if that does happen, just say "oops, sorry."  i.e., Repent and sin no more. The key to successful jamming (and to most group playing) is to maintain eye contact with whoever is leading that particular song. This is usually, but not always, the vocalist. In the case of instrumentals it is typically the person who kicked off the tune. I see lots of novices wondering why no one gives them a solo break.  There are usually three reasons: 

1) The leader tried to give you a break but you were too busy looking at your fingerboard. (Dobro players are notoriously guilty of this particular sin.)  

2) The leader didn’t feel you needed a solo break since you’d already (effectively) taken your "solo" break(s) albeit while the vocalist was singing or the mandolin was trying to be heard for his solo break.  

3) The final reason you may not get a break is that the jam leader(s) are being insensitive boors.  Sometimes this is a momentary lapse and sometimes it is a persistent personality flaw but don’t jump to conclusions too quickly.  I have heard people say "that jam doesn’t like new comers" when I know for a fact that is not true.  Give a jam a couple of tries before deciding that the participants are simply too inbred and unsympathetic to deal with.

Diverse Musical Cultures

Rules of etiquette tend to differ from jam to jam and especially between Old Timey and BG jams.  In BG jams, all pickers are expected to vamp or chop or play back up licks behind the vocalist or whichever instrument is given the nod to take a solo break.  In Old Timey (OT) jams, it’s common for all banjos and all fiddles to play the melody in unison. This behavior would quickly make you persona non grata at a BG jam.  Many OT jams frown on banjo players with finger picks (and possibly resonators) because such instruments overpower the more traditional-style pickers. Playing Scruggs style at some OT jams is liable to get you ridden out of town on a (f)rail . Some "Folky" jams are not jams at all but "open circles" where participants take turns singing and playing.  It always pays to stay in the background for a half hour or so until you can deduce the rules. BG jams will often welcome an OT banjo player and even offer him/her solo breaks but you must obey BG etiquette and not keep frailing, etc. over other people’s breaks.  There is also a jam form know as the "slow jam." These are jams for novices who are often intimidated by the breakneck speed of many (but not all) bluegrass jams. Slow jams allow the novice to get his/her feet wet in a non-threatening, mutually supportive environment.  My advice is for the novice to attend both types.  Even if, in the faster jam, you only learn to hear the chords and chunk quietly in the background, it helps to train your ear and might give you a chance to "push  the envelope."  

Some jams are led by one or a few people, usually the vocalists. If you want to lead a tune you have two options: 1) wait until the leader asks if you want to lead a tune or 2) ask the leader(s) if you may lead one. Either strategy is OK. Other jams are more democratic. The participants are all expected to lead a tune and the custom is for the lead to rotate around the circle. When your turn arrives you can lead a tune or just pass the honor.

Choice of tunes 

If you are a newcomer to a jam, try to avoid tunes that others are unlikely to know, particularly those with complex chord patterns. This is particularly good advice for non-guitarists. If you’re playing guitar, you’re likely playing full chords that others can hear and also "read" by watching your fingers (assuming that you avoid too many barre chords). But if you’re a non-guitarist, it’s unlikely that you’re playing full chords or that others can read your fingerboard so keep it relatively simple. If you are going to try a more complex tune, tell everyone before you start what the odd chords will be or where the odd timing might come. 

Sitting or Standing

As a general rule, bluegrass jams have the participants standing while in folk and Old Time jams they are usually seated in a circle. I’ve been to a few BG jams where folks are sitting but I really prefer to stand. I don’t think one can get the necessary (vocal) volume while sitting and I, personally, find that I play the really fast tunes much better while standing. Of course, by 4 a.m. at a BG festival, most people are too pooped to be standing. And I find that the older I get, the more I prefer to sit. 

A Final Note

As a final plea to the "regulars" in ongoing jam sessions: Make a point of welcoming newcomers.  They are the future of the music we all love.