Recently, on a discussion list, someone asked...

Date: Wed, 05 Aug 1998 13:44:34 -0700
Subject: (Strawberry) Jamming Ettiquette...

Does anyone know if there is a place on the web that refers to jamming etiquette? Or, better yet, does anyone have anything written up on jamming etiquette so I don't have to?

I have a friend who is a musician who wants to come to Strawberry, and I'd like to de-brief them...climatize them, if you will. Anyone who can help I thank you in advance...

Several answers ensued. Since they contained a few nuggets of wisdom, I thought it appropriate to share them with you all (names mangled to protect the guilty)...

Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 14:42:41 -0700
Subject: Re: (Strawberry) Jamming Ettiquette...

Xxxx Xxxxxxxxx posted this last year:

I was just wondering, being still fairly new to the festival.....what the prevailing opinion is about folks who visit other campsites and want to join in....is it OK to do so?? must one be invited to do so?? I do not play, but I sing and have (at times) felt unwelcome....maybe it's just the camps I visited.....is there a culture or protocol to this?? I'm not part of any organized musical group nor do I know people who are and might invite me along....

Dear Yyyyy Yy,

Jamming etiquette varies from jam to jam but they fall in basic categories.

1] The basic old time fiddle tune jam.
Lots of people who look like vegetarians sit around with fiddles, mandolins and guitars playing a melody in unison and then each member of the jam demonstrates he can play it by his or herself. When they are done they play another tune that is almost identical to the last and then each player demonstrates that they too know which notes make it a different song. If you are like me and don't know the difference just watch, listen and enjoy.

2] The basic bluegrass jam
Bluegrass jams come in several varieties but they fall into two categories good ones and not so good ones. The best jams always have a good bass player and a couple of good soloists on guitar, mandolin, and fiddle. There is one and only one banjo player and he knows how to play softly. Everyone in the circle is catching the syncopated grove and everyone appreciates the need for clean harmonies when vocals actually come into play. You are not likely to hear "Rocky Top" or "Fox on the Run" in the best jams. Like the fiddlers jam you will be expected to know the difference between many almost indistinguishable classics of the idiom. If there is no one playing the banjo I'll step into a circle like that but if there is some one already there or someone comes who thinks he's Bela I retreat to the shadows and play my dobro to myself behind a tree. I call it "going to school". There is nothing like the fun of riding the syncopated groove of a good bluegrass jam, but I just hate it when they ruin my fun by looking at me and then saying "take it."....So that's why I always find a good thick tree to hide behind.

3] The everybody sings and everybody plays oldies but goodies jam.
Such a jam would not be tolerated at a bluegrass festival, but Strawberry has a couple of good ones and they are the best bet for those of us who are only singers. It is good to know the words but vowel sounds will do the trick in any event. They are likely to be repetitive so expect your favorite top forty hit to last twenty minutes of so. Since I can't spell G. L. O. R. I. A. I usually avoid these places myself.

4] The Show Band mini concert.
Strawberry has a few acts floating around who are to one extent or another polished and well rehearsed. They prefer to do at least some of their material unmolested by the rest of us. New West, the Westerleys and to some extent the Avalanche Choir fit into that category. Their material represents hours and hours of careful crafting and is not really designed as sing along material. We had a gathering of all three of these bands plus a smattering of invited, gifted instrumentalists and singer song writers. We fell into a pattern where each act would do a number essentially undisturbed by the rest of us for a couple of verses and then little by little we all tastefully added parts that we thought would be welcome by the originating performers... Keep in mind we all knew each other well and the basic features of what was mostly original music. If you feel you have something to offer such a gathering be prepared to step up to the plate and sustain your own performance until such time as the rest of the people in the circle get a tasteful handle on what you are doing. Keep in mind that while such groups frequently resent you stepping all over their material, like everybody else, they don't mind stepping all over yours.

5] The New age drum circle.
These usually form in a part of the camp called "Bongo Hell" which is always too close to somebody....Need I say more?......Don't answer that! Many people think they should do this stuff at Birch Lake actually in the middle of Birch Lake......on the bottom. I once told a formally organized ritual drum circle in Berkeley, who claimed their drumming intrinsically made people better environmentalists, that if they really wanted to get "their point" across they needed some lyrics. Preferably something that actually stated what "their point" was. We sang "Mighty Clouds of Joy" for them (and received a hardy ovation) just to show them that their mortal enemies "those right wing fundamentalists" who thwarted their public school youth outreach program, had an edge in the marketing department.

In conclusion it should be said that there are plenty of choices and opportunities to participate in music at Strawberry but I think that cultivating ones input devices is the first thing you should do to get the most out of Strawberry. Make sure your ears and that rusty door to your heart is wide open before you fire up your output device.

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From: xxxxxxx
Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 16:41:41 -0800
Subject: Re: (Strawberry) Jamming Ettiquette...

I'm no expert, but I understand that stepping on someone else's instrument is considered bad form, unless that instrument is a banjo or a drum.

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From: Pppp Ggggg
Date: Wed, 5 Aug 98 16:28:28 -0700
Subject: Re: (Strawberry) Jamming Ettiquette...

This is from Bob Thomas' Bluegrass Newsletter

Jam Etiquette
A few of my readers have asked me to say a few words about bluegrass jam etiquette. The fewest words I found appropriate come from Matt.22: 39, "Love your neighbor as yourself." A bluegrass jam operates a lot on this principle. Be respectful of others. Tune your instrument. Take a turn; don't hog the jam by doing one song after another. Encourage others to take a break or sing a song. Jams don't have to have a leader, pass it around. Don't embarrass someone who doesn't feel up to taking a break or singing lead. If someone else is singing lead, find a harmony above or below the lead, don't sing unison with the lead. If someone else finds a harmony part you like before you do, don't sing on his or her part, wait for another song, or find a different harmony. If you sing lead, know the words, let folks know in which key you will be doing your song and indicate who takes a break and when. If there are unusual chords or timing in the song, let folks know before you begin. It is best to sing older well-known songs until you know the other participants.

When approaching an ongoing jam, don't barge in. Wait to see if the players are receptive to you and consider if your musical abilities are a good match with theirs. If not, move on. If they make room, or give you the nod to take a break, or perhaps ask if you want to do a song, join in. If your skills are a good match, but after playing quiet backup through several songs, they don't make room for you, don't offer you a break or don't even make eye contact, consider it a closed jam and move to another. For more information on this subject, read the excellent article by Tom Barnwell in the January 1998 issue of Bluegrass Unlimited.

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From: SssssLll
Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 20:53:59 EDT
Subject: Re: Re: (Strawberry) Jamming Ettiquette...

OR....

Just be polite, listen play a few and have some fun..thats what its all about.
(HOKEY POKEY)
LOVE
SEC

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From: Ppppp
Subject: Jam...

"If there is no one playing the banjo I'll step into a circle like that but if there is some one already there or someone comes who thinks he's Bela I retreat to the shadows and play my dobro to myself behind a tree."

HaHaHaHaHaHa....I laughed so hard at this that I cried...tooo funny!!!! Now, whenever I get depressed I'm going to the folder where I put this little gem and read it again...

Yeah...you could always take Ppp-Lll's approach...bust a jam that's been busted by an obnoxiously loud rhythm guitar player...who has no concept of a circle or counter-clockwise....wearing a little grass skirt and carrying a uke...and begin singing Hawaiian numbers....she saved one of our jams in such a way...it was a very effective ploy...