Jam Do’s and Don’ts

Here are a couple of jam do’s and don’ts from our new book, Play Well With Others: How To Jam Like A Pro If you’d like to add your own, here’s the place!

Tune
Tune your instrument to a standard pitch. Unless you’re one of the rare chosen people with perfect pitch, use an electronic tuner when available. An instrument that is in tune with itself may not be in tune with everybody else. If possible, tune somewhere else before joining a jam already in session. Don’t tune in the middle of someone else’s song! Instrumentalists who move capo positions or use different tunings for different keys may need time between songs to tune. Give them the time (and silence from music) to tune before the next song.

Listen
This is the simplest, most challenging, and important part. The person leading a particular song or tune controls the tempo and tone. Follow the leader. If you have to strain to hear the singer or lead player, you’re playing too loud, so pipe down! Blending individual voices and instruments into an ensemble creates a beautiful song. Sometimes the eye is quicker than the ear, so keep good eye contact with the song leader and watch when he or she changes chords. You may know a wild, offbeat version of a song, but save your version for when you’re the song leader.