Jam circle etiquette, lyrics, etc.

[Ralph124C41]

Originally Posted by rllink

That describes our jam. We don't exclude anyone, but we don't advertise. It is a dozen or so people, maybe a half dozen show up at any given jam and everyone knows everyone and their kids. It is a close knit group. We socialize outside the jam. The start time is a suggestion and we play until we feel like going home. It is very unstructured. Lots of socializing, but if you want people to quit talking, you just start playing a song and everyone else will shut up and play along.

Another jam just started up a few months ago in the same area once a month in the evening. It is open and advertised. So far it is mostly the people in our jam showing up and we kind of set the vibe. I suppose if more people show up that will change. That one has a start and finish time.

I'm not into drama. If I'm going to play with people they need to be like minded, easy to get along with and not come in with an agenda. I don't want to sound snarky, but I'm too old to play music with people I don't get along well with.

I agree with your last sentence. There is a local jam that I have been going to off and on for the past 12 years or so. It went into a "hold" for about a year and a half but then one of the players revived it. Now he had to quit due to his health so two other players have revived it.

The thing is there is one guy there who just does things to me I don't like in sort of a passive-aggressive approach. Last month I just walked out of the jam after one of his comments. I told the main organizer I was done with the jam but then I thought about it and said to myself, "You fool. You're going to let 12 years of playing in the jam because of one guy who hasn't been there all t hat long?
So I went back yesterday and it was a great jam. I didn't talk to him and he didn't talk to me but we both played the same songs (except my cheap guitar was in tune and he refuses to tune his expensive handmade guitar.)

[martingitdave]

Originally Posted by Ralph124C41

I agree with your last sentence. There is a local jam that I have been going to off and on for the past 12 years or so. It went into a "hold" for about a year and a half but then one of the players revived it. Now he had to quit due to his health so two other players have revived it.

The thing is there is one guy there who just does things to me I don't like in sort of a passive-aggressive approach. Last month I just walked out of the jam after one of his comments. I told the main organizer I was done with the jam but then I thought about it and said to myself, "You fool. You're going to let 12 years of playing in the jam because of one guy who hasn't been there all t hat long?
So I went back yesterday and it was a great jam. I didn't talk to him and he didn't talk to me but we both played the same songs (except my cheap guitar was in tune and he refuses to tune his expensive handmade guitar.)

That’s the spirit. I had a similar experience early on in my musical “career”. It really knocked me off my game for a while. It was a very unpleasant experience. In the end, I realized it had nothing to do with me. It was just the guy’s awful personality. I let it go, forgave him in my head, and now we can actually converse and discuss music all those years later.