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Going to a Jam Session

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Going To A Jam Session

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Playing Music With Other People.

I guess the whole point of learning the drums.. or any instrument, is to play music with other people. You may end up in a band that gets paid to play for other people or to record records but in essence when you start out on an instrument and then maybe find some like-minded people who play other instruments, you get together and play music. Together. No crowd, no set list, no dressing room, no backstage rider,no pay. Just making music with other people for the love of doing it. Every band ever started like this, probably playing covers of other people songs. The Beatle started by playing other people’s songs… then they started playing their own songs… the did pretty well.

Networking for Musicians.

So where do you find other people to play with? Well to start with this might be mates from school or college, but if you’re starting alittle later down the line it can be harder to find people. So maybe going to Jam session might be worth doing.

If you think about it, if you work in business (maybe you do) and want to get to know other businesses to work with you might go to a networking lunch or evening event organised by a local business enterprise partnership. Well, going to a Jam session is pretty much like a networking event.. but with (hopefully) great live music. It’s a chance to see and meet other players ,and if you choose to play they get to see you. This can be daunting if you’re not experienced in playing with other musicians so you may feel more comfortable to go to a couple of events just to watch and get an idea of the how busy they are, and the kind of music people are playing. It may be a 'Jazz Jam’ for example where the kind stuff being played fits a specific genre, or it may have smaller groups go up and play original songs.

You’ll get to know who’s running it and maybe get opportunity to discuss who might be suitable to sit in with and what you’re comfortable playing.

Play For The Room, Not Your Ego.

As a drummer I’ve have only been ask once to pick a tune at a Jam session, so it does focus you on having to deal with whatever gets called by the singer/saxophonist/guitarist or whoever has been called up.

To be honest I much prefer to go with whatever other players are wanting to play, in a way it takes the pressure off calling a tune and knowing it inside out and to be honest unless its Jazz standard that the other players know of and play using charts with the given chord structure and key, the drummer calling tunes has the potential to be a disaster.

Remember, you’re still playing to a room of people (who may have paid to get in) so put the room first and play to entertain them by supporting the other musicians with your playing, this is not the time to pull out some random tune that you know has the opportunity for a drum solo in it. No one likes a show off. Humility is the key to gelling with other musicians and supporting their playing is more likely to lead to them wanting to play with you again. This is about networking and building relationships with other players.

I don’t ever ask for a solo, I wait to be asked mid-tune and if I fancy it I’ll do one. If the other players are savvy enough to know what works and whether a full chorus (the full melody of 32/36 bars) or trading fours (taking 4 bar solos in turn with other players) is best then that will come out in their communication on stage with you.

Talking To Musicians – Not Drummers.

Most of my Jam night experience is Jazz related however going to a more pop/rock/middle of the road(??) Jam night is great and you’re more likely to be accompanying someone playing one of their own songs. Jazz/Pop/Folk/Blues.. whatever the genre, there’s a few questions I try to ask before starting a tune.

What time signature is it in?.. 4/4?

This surprises quite a few people when you ask this as they may assume that everyone will go with 4/4. (that’s why it’s called ‘common time’ after all) Even if it’s a well-known tune - and that may be their perception - there is always the possibility this is a different arrangement. Some Jazz tunes have versions in 3/4 and 4/4. Asking the question shows you’re open minded as to what the time signature is and are thinking about what you’re going to play.

What Tempo would you like?

Asking a specific question on this rather than “how fast is it?” will let them know you’re keen to get it right and even if the say “oh,medium” (they normal do!) then you can suggest a number.. 140bpm? 165bpm? Have a metronome app on hand to check if you’re not sure. One person’s medium is another’s really fast.. sticking with a beat count removes the subjectivity. ‍

What style is it?

Even at a Jazz Jam this could be a Ballad, Swing/Bop or Latin. At a more varied Jam it might be the players are after a Folk vibe or a straight up Rock beat. You may also get more of a description rather than a textbook genre…. “kinda laid back”, “a Beatles type thing”, “a Tom Tom beat then use the cymbals”, or my personal favourite “ just a normal beat really”…

Remember, you are now talking with Musicians, not Drummers. Only Drummers talk to each other in terms of technical specifics and rhythmic names. Musicians use Adverbs or Adjectives to describe the sound or feeling their after and it’s our job as drummers to interpret this into what they want. This isn’t in any drummer book, it’s a skill learnt through playing and communicating with people.

I’ve never been asked what grade of drummer I am at a Jam night; what people actually care about is whether you are adding to the music and improving the overall sound of the ensemble.

And that’s the whole point really.

Playing music with other people, maybe in front of other people. Making connections and sharing that music in the moment. It really isthe best thing ever.

Go to Jam session and see where it leads…