I want to write a couple of posts about jamming etiquette- guidelines that help us smoothly navigate through the often intimidating world of playing with groups of other people at gatherings of one sort or another. This is an important subject, and is more often than not a significant source of doubt and even fear among beginners. It can be a terrible barrier to get past... Jamming etiquette and learning to play well in groups without offending others deserves some in depth discussion and clarifications.So I am going to suggest that anyone reading this blog who is interested in this subject first read through this brief collection of jamming etiquette lists I have collected below, and in my next post I will attempt to explain the reasoning behind some of the things on these lists, why I might either agree with each suggestion or disagree, and how it all effects us mountain dulcimers players. Keep in mind as you are reading that my own experience is mostly in old-time jam sessions, not bluegrass- but in the end I don't think that will matter too much.
Some worthwhile lists of jamming etiquette as compiled by various authors:
Jam etiquette List 1
Jam etiquette List 2
Jam etiquette List 3
Jam etiquette List 4
Jam etiquette List 5
Jam etiquette List 6
Hangin' on the edge!
ReplyDeleteGood advice all; both for players and jam organizers. I've sat in on a few multi- instrument or BG jams, and they seem more polite or organized or both than most dulcimer jams.
Dulcimer jams are generally larger and tend not to take 'breaks' or pass the lead around, which is sort of a shame.