Jam Sessions – Sitting In

For those who don’t know, a jam session is a fairly informal night of music. The jam is usually organized around a specific style of music – jazz, blues, country, etc. There’s a host band which will open up the night by playing some tunes. They bring their own equipment that the “jammers’ are allowed play on. If you play a wind instrument, bring your own – sax, trumpet, harmonica (harp), etc.

Most jam sessions have some sort of sign up list – write down your name, instrument and whether you sing or not. If there’s no list, make a point of going up to one of players and introduce yourself. You may have to ask a fellow jammer who you should talk to. Even if there is a list, it’s a great idea to talk to the person organizing everything. I also find it helpful to simply say hi to the host drummer and make sure that he/she knows I’m there.

The social aspect of the jam can be fun, but for some people it can be stressful regardless of your skill level on your instrument. You may be comfortable practicing on your own and/or with your buddies in your basement, but may feel overwhelmed when you’re around lots of other musicians whom you don’t know. It’s been my experience that when I’m feeling this way, it’s best just to remember that everyone is there to have fun and make music. You don’t have to play the first time you show up. You could simply hang out and get a feel for how it goes. Different places have different feels. When I lived in New York City, the jams were pretty serious.

After you get called to play (“sitting in”), try to be ready as quickly as possible. Introduce yourself to the players that you’ll be playing with and see if everyone can agree on some tunes that you can play together. Sometimes, one person may really want to play a certain tune, but if others don’t know it, then there could be problems. If you’re the drummer sitting in on someone else’s drum set, please be respectful. I try not to change anything and just accept the fact that it’s not my kit and just deal with that – that’s part of sitting in. Have your own sticks, brushes, etc. and try not to play as if you don’t care about this person’s equipment. On the contrary, play as if this gear deserves your respect – it does. If you do adjust the angles of anything (cymbal stands, e.g.), please loosen things before making any adjustments, so that you’re not stressing out someone else’s hardware.

All-in-all, I like going to jam sessions and have met some great musicians and great people. You never know who you’ll be playing with up there – sometimes it’s nice and musical and other times, not as much. That happens. My goal is to try and have fun and be supportive to the music being played. There have been many times when I have not gotten a drum solo. For me, that’s fine. I’m up there to make music. If a solo is not called for, then that’s fine with me.

If you have an off night, then you could reassess your skills (the next day) and try again. I find that it’s always been beneficial to me when I play with musicians who are better players than I – I get a chance to grow, and I like that!