What actually goes on at an old-time country music jam session? What do they really play? It is held in a local church—maybe it’s all church music and gospel? Then again, what if you’re not a church goer, maybe not even a Christian? Maybe you’re Jewish or some Eastern religion, or maybe not religious at all. What if you can’t sing or are afraid to sing? What if you have this banjo, or mandolin, or guitar heirloom from the family? It is neat but you don’t know much about playing it. What if ? The ifs go on and on. How are you going know if you don’t take a look or a listen?
October’s attendees included 10 people, three of them totally new to the group, and one fellow new from last month. This was our nineteenth jam session. All noted that they had read about the jam sessions in the Villager. The makeup of the group included 3 banjos, a flute, at least 4 guitars, 3 mandolins, and some other type of mandolin-like instrument. That adds up to more than ten, but some brought several instruments.
At least two people noted that they had heard about our jam sessions at other local jam sessions in the area. Many were drawn to our more eclectic song selections and much less regimented style, focusing on interpersonal relationships. Several of the other jam sessions only play Public Domain songs, which do not usually include anything current but are heavily weighted in old bluegrass. Also, more than a couple people corresponded to say that they could not make the October Jam due to previous commitments and business trips. An interesting thing that I recently discovered is that some of the people on my extended e-mail list have not been seen in over a year. But they transmit that information to people in other Jam sessions who then look us up. Another draw that was mentioned is that we openly advertise, particularly in the first hour, that we will work with unskilled novices to get them familiar with their instruments and begin playing with us. We have occasionally done this outside of the confines of the Jam sessions. Many of us take advanced lessons in playing and singing, and could well provide so for others in our artistic community. Other services are available through our extended group, i.e., instrument repair and lessons. This undoubtedly promotes more cohesiveness and a sense of community.
Here is this month’s play list so that people get a sense of the breadth of what we are playing. It is not centered on religion, rock and roll, old time country, or contemporary music. Rather, it is a good mix of them all. The song list we played included “Camp Town Races”, “Learning to Smile”, “King of the Road”, “Country Roads”, and “Wrong Road Again”.
Tonight’s new people obviously were reasonably skilled with their instruments. We played “Camp Town Races” from the previous Jam and it was clear that everyone was on the same page. “Camp Town Races” is a good starter song because it is repetitive, has only 3 chords, and most everyone recognizes it. I introduced two more basic three chord songs which are geared to audience participation, then we let people call out anything they wanted, which delved into more complicated and contemporary song. As with any group of musicians that gather, some are more advanced than others. There are times when groups don’t have any basic learners. We read the crowd as they show up and try very hard to maintain a balance.
This evening’s group consisted of regulars, some of whom have played together for several years, and four new or newer members that were very interested in our music. A couple had played in bar bands and appreciated our more contemporary song selections, and the other two had played a good bit in church and community gatherings. One fellow seems quite accomplished with banjo picking and claw hammering (a different type of picking). This will lend itself well to future developments.
Over the course of the evening I noticed the instant rapport between musicians. If someone called out a song that was unfamiliar to most, at least one or two others had heard it before somewhere, and/or could read musical scores and begin to decipher it (most of us can’t read music). We then all gathered together to make it work. What came out of that experience is the need to have some song sheets with words and chords available so that others could build a repertoire of songs that we might play. After the fact I have been able to look up song sheets on the internet and, after making corrections, will be able to send out copies to the group. The internet—in my experience– invariably has wrong cords, wrong timing, and I know that I will have to completely revamp all songs.)
This jam I brought with me about 50 copies of the five initial songs we played. All noted that this was very helpful to the group. If other group member have a song that they would like to play at a coming jam, they can e-mail it to me and I can distribute it to the group beforehand (e-mail is free, copies are not)
I would anticipate that, as this group progresses, we will receive requests, invitations to play at other events and venues. I have asked the church if they would like some jam music at some other social event of theirs.
The next Jam session is scheduled for November 8, 2019, from 6 to 8 PM at the Mantua Center Christian Church. I hope to see you there.
