Jam night etiquette

shaunm

I'm wanting to get along to a jam night this week but i have a couple of questions regarding etiquette.

I'm wanting to take my own combo amp, will this be frowned upon?

I don't sing, I just play. Are people often generous and let a guitarist "sit in" with them?

bigjon

For the Cambridge jam nights, yes it would be frowned upon, slightly. It slows things down during changeovers and takes up valuable space on a small stage area. At least consult with the organiser first, and if you do take one make sure you arrive early so it can be set up beforehand.
At the Cambridge Blues Jams, the organiser finds out who wants to play and everyone who is there in good time gets to play at least one set of (usually) 3 songs.

ElectroDan

At the jam night I go to occasionally, space is at a bit of a premium. But everyone does their best to squeeze in and help each other out. sometimes I've taken a guitar, pedals and a combo. Other nights not even taken my own guitar (one of the organisers is cool with people using his gear).

As for who plays what.. it seems to happen very organically. I've sat in on guitar and backing vocals with guys from two other bands and guys (old and young) that never otherwise play live. then had a guy take the mic from in front of me to play a Kazoo solo. Awesome fun.

I suppose you could go a week before, get chatting and sus it all out.

mike_l

Any pedals need to be battery operated, and take another instrument cable if you take a pedal.

Don't get pissed.

Don't be a dick.

Listen to the other sets.

Be ready to play when it's your turn.

 

JayGee

At the night I frequent in Colchester the etiquette is that if you want to bring an amp that's fine but... 

A) Turn up early and be set-up before the evening starts.

Any kit in the stage area stays there until the end.

C) It'll probably be replacing one of the "House" amps so other people get to use it.

D) It's subject to space and clutter restrictions so, if you don't let the organiser know in good time you might be out of luck.

My little Mesa 5:25 has become pretty much a de-facto house amp and @MattG's Swart has made a couple of guest appearances too. I'm seriously considering taking my Blackstar 104 + 2x12 this evening just to get some more practice driving it at performance volume and see what other voices I (or anyone else for that matter) can coax out of it but I'm not sure how that's going to go down in the light of clause D... :-)

mike_l

In addition.

Don't hog the solo's, let the other guitarist have his share.

If there's keyboards/sax's let them solo too.

Be polite to the other musicians/organisers.

Strat_a_tat_tat

mike_l said:

Be polite to the other musicians/organisers.

Surely that's going to take all the fun out of the evening!

ESBlonde

A couple of Jams I've visited use 'house' gear which includes suitably small combos and drums to prevent over zealous guitarists being too loud for the venue/management (who'd a thunk it).

At another Jam which involves mature performers your own gear would be acceptable but expect allow others to use it if it's on stage. If you want to do a showcase type personal performance there are some open mic nights that are more suitable but tend to feature songwriters rather than bands/musicians jamming.

Phil_aka_Pip

shaunm said:

I'm wanting to get along to a jam night this week but i have a couple of questions regarding etiquette.

I'm wanting to take my own combo amp, will this be frowned upon?

I don't sing, I just play. Are people often generous and let a guitarist "sit in" with them?

As others say about own amplification, IMO its best to learn to work with whatever is provided. Sometimes I don't get the sound I want, but that's all part of life's learning.

Nobody expects you to sing if you don't want to. The organiser will probably put you with someone else who does, or if he has sussed you are a good instrumentalist might put you either with someone who is happier with rhythm duties and leave you to get on with what you're good at (but don't be self-indulgent), or with someone else who is also a good instrumentalist with the intention of you having some good interplay between you. As others have said, let everyone else have a blow - drummers, bass players, keys, etc.

Some jams are 1 short set of 3 (and if time permits or there is a need for you to sit in with someone else, another one), other jams are 1 song then you're off but you could get called up 3 or 4 times during the night.

ChrisCox1994

I run a jam night thats also an open mic, so we get a good cross over of singer songwritery types and classical guitar duos to the typical blues jam type stuff, i usually put in two amps (fender blues jr and a mesa express) so most styles are covered by the two amps provided, i'd say thats the case at most jam nights, but as mentioned earlier if you really want to use your own make sure you get there early and talk to the organiser, its not a problem at most places.