Jam session

[Triple-o]

How does a jam session work? Let’s say you have 3 or 4  beginner guitarist that want to have a blues jam session. I know you would bring the guitar stuff,would  you have an assortment of blues material to hand out? Would you just play some 1  4   5 chord progression and take turns trying to solo? What to you think?

[V7#5b9]

1 hour ago, Triple-o said:

How does a jam session work? Let’s say you have 3 or 4  beginner guitarist that want to have a blues jam session. I know you would bring the guitar stuff,would  you have an assortment of blues material to hand out? Would you just play some 1  4   5 chord progression and take turns trying to solo? What to you think?

That’s pretty much it, but more specifically, you need to be familiar with three elements.

1 Chords & Rhythms

• Some common blues chord shapes.
• How the 12 bar blues form works.
• How to find the I, IV, and V chords in any key and apply them to the 12 bar form.
• At least one common blues strumming pattern or rhythm.
• How to start your blues song.
• How to end your blues song.

2 Soloing

• What note to start your solo on.
• What beat to start your solo on.
• Pentatonic and blues forms.
• When to use lead techniques (bends, hammer-ons, pull-offs).
• Licks (phrases).

3 Putting The Pieces Together

• Assembling your Intro, Rhythm, Solo and Ending.
• Using licks (phrases) or single notes as fills between vocal lines.

Edited October 16, 2018 by V7#5b9
Corrected bullet display

[Six String]

Maybe start by taking a poll of what songs songs you have in common and go from there?

If you don't have any in common, Freddie Kings "I'm going Down" or "Blue on Black" by Kenny Wayne Sheppard are fairly easy to learn rhythm parts that sound harder than they are.  You could all learn those and work on improvising some blues solo's over them.

Depending on how "beginner" the least experienced person is you may need to pick a song or two with just your open chords so everyone gets to participate and learn.

The first attempt may (likely) feel like a train wreck, but try to keep it up and you will all learn a lot from each other.

Edited October 17, 2018 by Six String

[gotto]

It is great that you are considering organizing a blues jam. They are a lot of fun and can be a real positive step forward in getting confidence of stretching out musically without feeling adversely scrutinized because of your shortcomings. Gerald and Six have shared great comments on how to get started. I have hosted and participated in jam sessions regularly at my place and elsewhere and the experiences vary depending on skill levels and understandings of the blues and group play. Based on these  experiences, this is my advice. 

A basic understanding of the blues is a significant starting point. Even beginning students with mastery of basic open chords, major and minor, could participate if they understand the 12 bar, 1-4-5 concept as Gerald suggests.  Also the feel of the blues relies on certain rhythm strummings-straight, triplet, swings, shuffles etc. Beginning players may only be able to play the chords without any soloing, but that is ok, as this is a building process with novice players. I often introduce a song by having players listen to the song via my PA system first if they are unfamiliar or need to get an idea of tempo and rhythm style. Having a drummer and bass player is a real benefit for getting the "feel" in a jam. Within that player group, hopefully some will also have some understanding of major and minor pentatonics and the blues scale as well, and can give some examples of soloing over the progressions. It is not necessary at first to know specific songs if you are just focused on just jamming. At some point, if a singer is introduced into the mix, specific songs can be introduced, but the emphasis is always about "the jam"-passing around  the opportunity to solo over the chord progressions. 

As Six stated, it can be a real train wreck at times ( a friend of mine calls these a musical mashup) so getting everyone on the same rhythm pattern, in tempo on time is important and that would be the first emphasis. Also, keeping volumes under control so that the soloist or singer is not drowning in noise is important. Keep it loose and fun, make mistakes and laugh about it. Establish the common knowledge level, set up the progression- I use a white board to set up songs if progression are less common or more complex, but they can be used for basic instruction as well- listen to an example (many jam tracks are available for free), and give things a spin. If you are hosting, be the leader and teacher of your assembly. Enjoy the ride. Best of luck on this.

Greg

I will add that as the sessions advance, I will hand out song sheets of common songs ( there are dozens of these that I have) and ask others to bring in their choices to present/teach, so that the jam becomes less me running and more participatory . Also this allows me to learn new materials as well,  that I may not have been introduced to before. Fun stuff.

Edited October 17, 2018 by gotto

[Triple-o]

Thanks for all the advice. 

 

[Blue Dog]

 

[NeilES335]

A very helpful lesson on what to do (or not) at your first jam. Interestingly on my 1st time a few months ago this is basically what I did and it went very well. (they asked me to come back some time so i guess I was Ok). The listening  part was the key, and only playing when you have something to contribute. If you're not sure, remaining silent listening is the "cool" thing to do.

[Oldjock]

The group that I jam with monthly uses DropBox to post songs which we will play at the jam session. I addition to the song sheet with cords and riffs, an audio file is added to be able to listen to the music. By the time the jam session night arrives, everyone has had an opportunity to practice the songs.

Henk

[matonanjin]

Triple-o, you have received some great suggestions and I couldn't add much to what has been said.  I think most blues jams stick to the usual suspects when it comes to the set list, at least in the beginning: Sweet Home Chicago, Born Under A Bad Sign, Killing Floor, Further On Up On the Road, Tore Down, Shake Your Money Maker, etc.

I don't know how much time you want to invest, but TrueFire has two course dedicated to preparing you for a jam.  I own them both (of course I do) but haven't unpacked either one yet.

Jeff Scheetz's Blues Jam Survival Guide

and

Andy Aledort's Jam Night Vol. 1

Actually this latter one is a 3 volume set and what I linked you to is Volume 1.  I can't recommend either because, as I said, I haven't started either.  But they looked interesting enough that I purchased them.  At first glance perhaps Jeff's is a little more theoretical and Andy's slightly more song specific, but that appraisal could be wrong.

I am so very spoiled because the two guys that I jam with Wednesday nights are dramatically better than I am.  And a portion of each night is spent on their teaching me.  So far they don't seem to be getting very frustrated with me!??

We're all looking forward to getting some reports back from your jam, @Triple-o.