How to Successfully Join a Bluegrass Jam

A bluegrass jam session at Duck Foot Brewery in Miramar. Photo by David Cupp.

Jamming is an essential part of the bluegrass experience. Here are some tips on how to join in successfully.

Joining
Don’t just jump in, unless you know the players already and you know you are welcome. If not, stand outside the jam circle for a tune or two and listen:

• Are they jamming at your level?
• How are they passing tunes around the jam circle?
  • Clockwise around the circle?
  • Is there a jam leader calling the tunes?
• Is somebody already playing your instrument?
• Tune your instrument!

When you are ready to join, ask “may I join you?” You may find that what you thought was a jam session is actually a band rehearsal not looking to add participants. Other than that, I’ve never been told “no” and have always been welcomed warmly. By asking, you are not only being polite, but you are establishing your place in the rotation. If you just start playing you might be skipped.

I’m in—Now What?
The basic rule is that the selection of a tune rotates around the circle. From your pre-entry observation you should already know which way tune selection is going around the circle. Here are some tips:

Soloing
If you can read guitar chords, sit (or stand) where you can see a competent guitar player so you can follow the chord progressions.

• The tune will progress around the circle for players to take solos
  • If you want to pass, that’s okay. Let the person next to you know BEFORE it becomes you turn. This will allow the next player to start on time.
  • If you want to take a solo, make sure you follow the form of the tune. Is it an AA BB format, split breaks? Follow the lead of the person who called the tune.

Backup
When it’s not your turn to solo, you will play backup. Here are tips:

• Play so the lead soloist can be heard. If you can’t hear the solo, you are too loud.
  • Quiet down, especially when a guitar takes a lead as the guitar is a quiet instrument
  • Playing fills is fine, but be sure not to play them over a vocalist. Play fills in between vocal sections. Share fills with the other players—don’t hog them all!
• Be sure you are playing on time. If not sure, listen to and follow the bass player.

Singing
When someone calls a vocal tune that you know and you want to sign harmony:

• Ask before the tune starts! May I sing harmony?
• If needed, clarify which harmony part you want to sign—tenor, baritone, etc.
• Typically, harmony is sung only on the chorus. Ask if you want to sing harmony on a verse. If the lead welcomes it, usually let the lead have the first verse solo before you join with harmony
• If more than one person wants to sing harmony, it’s best to clarify who will do what in advance. Remember, the tune belongs to the person who called it—don’t step on their moment!

Starting and Ending
It is the job of the person who called the tune to start and end it.

• A typical start is four beats at the tempo of the tune. This lets others know the tempo and when to start
• Or, a start can be a phrase played by the leader—often a simple turn around
• When the tune has gone all the way around the circle, the person who called it ends it. There can be a vocal end or an instrumental end. Like the start, it is often a simple turn around or repeated last phrase.

Now It’s Your Turn
Prepare in advance for when your turn comes around to call a tune:

• Think ahead of a tune you can call
  • Pick something suitable for the group level of the jam, meaning something well known or, if unique, that is easy to play. This is not the time for that obscure tune with the complex chord progression that nobody knows!
  • Be ready to lead the tune:
    • Do you know all the words?
    • Tell the group the key, the tune name, the tempo, and indicate if you want harmony
    • Be sure to start at the tempo you want
    • Look at the next person in the circle when it is their time for their solo—it’s your job to lead the tune around the circle!
    • When it gets around the circle back to you, play your solo and any ending.

Some Dos and Don’ts

• If you are a bass player and there is already a bass, ask before joining. Normally one bass player at a time is the rule. Most bass players know this and will take turns.
• Play in tune and on time!
• If you are just learning it’s okay to sit back and play along quietly
• When someone else is soloing, play backup—no fills, harmony, etc. This is the moment for the soloist to shine and your job is to make them sound good, not hog the spotlight!
• It never hurts to introduce yourself when you first join.
• It never hurts to say “thanks” when you leave.

Have fun! Jamming is one of the greatest parts of the bluegrass experience.