Southwest Florida Bluegrass Association

This is a subject that has probably been discussed in bluegrass circles starting with the first time a few players decided to have an informal jam session. Many articles have been written on it and a few players have tried to set up the basic rules by a list of Ten Jammandments and other methods. To someone who doesn’t participate in jam sessions it probably seems like much ado over nothing. After all, it’s just a group of people playing music together. Why would there have to be rules? It is important to the bluegrass musician because he/she has practiced for years and has invested in instruments, campers, fuel, lessons, tuners, lyrics books, instruction videos, and camping fees for the express purpose of participating in jam sessions. Then they go to a festival and end up wandering from session to session trying to find one that offers a good jamming experience. A short list of jamming rules are useful as a beginning, but there are too many nuances in the jamming area to handle all of the situations with a few rules.

The following is a summary of some of the opinions expressed on the subject by the members of the SWFBA-L e-mail list. These are just the opinions of a few players, but they might prompt some thought, and more discussion, among the bluegrass musicians. Many players approach a jam session and possibly join it for a time, only to make a fast exit at the first opportunity. They rarely tell anyone why they didn’t think it was a good jam. They just quietly disappear. This might give us some idea why they leave.

Here is a summary of some of the comments on Jamming Circles. I will try to include others in future newsletters.

Taking turns Leading the Song/Tune: Most of the list members who commented agreed that the players should take turns around the circle, because an open jam session is for all levels of players. This keeps one or two players from dominating the jam session. If a group of good pickers do not want lesser skilled musicians to play, they need to have their own private gathering. If a band is practicing for a performance most of the players realize it, but sometimes the band will have to politely remind them.

There are some rules players should follow when taking turns around the circle: You should know what you want to do when it comes your turn. You have several minutes to think of a song - when it’s your turn you should be ready to start the song. This is not the time to start a conversation or tell your favorite joke. After any song, don’t keep practicing the song that just finished or twiddle around on another song. It’s hard for the next person to start a new song if you are playing. Don’t start a song in an unusual key or with a lot of minors and quick chord changes that nobody else can follow. If you want to teach someone how to play a song, leave the circle and let the jam continue. Bluegrass jamming is not a contest to ‘stump the band’ with an unfamiliar song or see who can play the fastest. It is a group of people at different levels of expertise who share a common love of the music.

Giving Breaks In The Jamming Circle: This is the thing that seems to be the hardest for a bluegrass newcomer to master. Different people deal with it in different ways and the way it is done can determine whether the jam keeps getting better over time or suffers an untimely death. We discussed two different methods of assigning breaks, but I am sure there are several more. Some people thought that working a jam around in a clockwise circle is much more efficient than the singer picking out someone to take a break. Others thought the singer of the song should be in control of who takes a break. Regardless of the method, someone should be selected to take the break. Here a summary of the comments on passing breaks around the jamming circle:

Pro - The circle pass-off is fair to everyone. It keeps the less skilled instrumentalists from being left out. It gives them a chance to show their skills and learn how to play in a jam. Too often the leader nods to the better players each time and the same players don’t get a chance to play a break. Passing the break around the circle also makes it simpler for the player who is leading the tune. He/she doesn’t have to worry about which player to call on next. The break simply goes to the next one in turn. If there are too many players for the number of verses in the song the remaining players can just take breaks consecutively until the song is finished, then the leader can end the song.

Con - The circle pass-off works as long as the number of people in the circle does not outnumber the number of verses in the song. The singer can’t be singing the same verse over and over just to give everyone a break. Going around the circle, giving break after break just to include everybody makes the song too long. It also can seem too regimented and dull for some players. The different lead players stay into the action more if they have to be ready at any time to take a break. Giving a different sequence of players a break on each song also makes each song different. Usually the singer knows which lead players will look at him/her at the right time so they can be given the nod for the break. If a player doesn’t look up for the break that usually means they aren’t prepared to take one on this song. The singers are actually the ones at a disadvantage because they are not going to have as many opportunities to sing the songs they want to sing. If there are six people in a jam taking turns around the circle, a singer that does not play lead gets a turn every sixth song or tune, whereas a lead picker gets a turn with every song. How can there be anything fair about that? Directing the breaks is part of the fun of leading a song in the jam. While the singer is singing the song he/she is controlling the jam. If it seems like it’s time for a banjo break he/she shouldn’t have to go to the dobro because they are the next in line. After all, this is supposed to be fun! I don’t think we should take all of the spontaneity out of it.