I am finally getting my confidence level to the point where I may want to join in at local jam sessions. What is the proper etiquette when approaching other musicians on the stand? How does one signal one's interest in playing? How long should one stay on the stand? Can one play the bass that is already there or do I need to bring my own? I don't want to make any faux pas.
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Double Bass jam session etiquette
- Thread starter skipper
- Start date
It's good that you're asking, that's almost a guarentee that you'll be tuned in enough to be okay. There are some general guidelines, but every session has its own vibe, so here's what I'd reccomend.
Go to the session this week (or next) without the intention to play. Just go and hang out and take it in. Watch how people seem to get on stage, sometimes there's a signup sheet, sometimes people just go up, sometimes everyone knows each other.
How many bassists were there? How long did they each play?
Keep notes on what tunes got played. Who called them? Did you know them or were they new to you? Were people reading charts or not? One of our better sessions that's not going anymore had the rule that you could only play what you knew, no realbooks. Most have books, though, especially for the poor rhythm section who is taking all calls.
Did everyone pass the house bass around or did everyone seem to have their own?
Personally, when I used to host sessions, I preferred for people to play my bass. I generally feel like it's safer in their hands than laying in a bar without enough room while someone else schlepped theirs up, but it may not be the same for everyone.
See if there's a chance to introduce yourself to one of the bassists who play a tune or two. Tell them honestly who you are, like you did with us and the chances that they'll give you solid advice and probably even put you on stage are high.
If you don't play on your scouting week, then plan to play one or two at the most tunes the next week and go in with 5 that you're comfortable with. When you get up there, call a tune you're comfortable with, so that you don't get stuck with something you're not.
2 of 2 things will happen: 1) You'll do great, you'll have a great time, you've dipped your toe into the scene and you'll not sleep well thinking about how great it was. 2) You'll crash and burn, but will have dipped your toe into the scene and you'll not sleep well thinking about how great it's going to be.
Honestly, both of these things will happen and you'll start to meet people to play with. When I made my first sessions, i could barely play, but people started asking me to come to their house sessions and even gigs. I probably should have turned some of those down because I wasn't ready, but that's how you learn.
My advice to you is simply, do it with humility and don't ever misrepresent yourself. Be honest about who and where you are and work hard. People respect that and it shows that you respect them. Then remember in 5 years to help the guy who you notice going through the same thing.
Go to the session this week (or next) without the intention to play. Just go and hang out and take it in. Watch how people seem to get on stage, sometimes there's a signup sheet, sometimes people just go up, sometimes everyone knows each other.
How many bassists were there? How long did they each play?
Keep notes on what tunes got played. Who called them? Did you know them or were they new to you? Were people reading charts or not? One of our better sessions that's not going anymore had the rule that you could only play what you knew, no realbooks. Most have books, though, especially for the poor rhythm section who is taking all calls.
Did everyone pass the house bass around or did everyone seem to have their own?
Personally, when I used to host sessions, I preferred for people to play my bass. I generally feel like it's safer in their hands than laying in a bar without enough room while someone else schlepped theirs up, but it may not be the same for everyone.
See if there's a chance to introduce yourself to one of the bassists who play a tune or two. Tell them honestly who you are, like you did with us and the chances that they'll give you solid advice and probably even put you on stage are high.
If you don't play on your scouting week, then plan to play one or two at the most tunes the next week and go in with 5 that you're comfortable with. When you get up there, call a tune you're comfortable with, so that you don't get stuck with something you're not.
2 of 2 things will happen: 1) You'll do great, you'll have a great time, you've dipped your toe into the scene and you'll not sleep well thinking about how great it was. 2) You'll crash and burn, but will have dipped your toe into the scene and you'll not sleep well thinking about how great it's going to be.
Honestly, both of these things will happen and you'll start to meet people to play with. When I made my first sessions, i could barely play, but people started asking me to come to their house sessions and even gigs. I probably should have turned some of those down because I wasn't ready, but that's how you learn.
My advice to you is simply, do it with humility and don't ever misrepresent yourself. Be honest about who and where you are and work hard. People respect that and it shows that you respect them. Then remember in 5 years to help the guy who you notice going through the same thing.
Yeah, he did, and I'm making a personal sticky out of it. Thanks, Troy.
I completely lucked out in how I "went public." I had never even tried to jam with anyone. I was happy (I thought) just using play-alongs at home by myself, when a friend who was learning dobro asked me to join his living room bluegrass group that he had formed specifically because his teacher told him that the fastest way to learn was to play with people. So now I'm painlessly playing in a group with a beginning dobro and mandolin players and a fairly experienced guitar player. A few months later, the teacher—who can play anything with plucked strings—asked my friend and me to play an easy background-music afternoon charity gig with him. We had a practice session yesterday and he likes the sound of my odd bass, so . . . now I'm into it, I guess.
I completely lucked out in how I "went public." I had never even tried to jam with anyone. I was happy (I thought) just using play-alongs at home by myself, when a friend who was learning dobro asked me to join his living room bluegrass group that he had formed specifically because his teacher told him that the fastest way to learn was to play with people. So now I'm painlessly playing in a group with a beginning dobro and mandolin players and a fairly experienced guitar player. A few months later, the teacher—who can play anything with plucked strings—asked my friend and me to play an easy background-music afternoon charity gig with him. We had a practice session yesterday and he likes the sound of my odd bass, so . . . now I'm into it, I guess.
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From Ed's link:
Bass: Bassists are not terribly smart. The best bassists come to terms with their limitations by playing simple lines and rarely soloing. During the better musical moments, a bassist will pull his strings hard and grunt like an animal. Bass players are built big, with paws for hands, and they are always bent over awkwardly. If you talk to the bassist during a break, you will not be able to tell whether or not hes listening.
I play in the house rhythm section for a Monday night jazz jam. TroyK pretty much nailed it. We get everything from students to serious pros on any given night. We keep Real Books on hand because we want to support anyone and everyone and we simply don't know EVERY tune ;-) We use a sign up sheet and have one person who manages it and rotates players on and off the stand. I start the night and end it but the middle varies. Sometimes I play all night. Last Monday there were four acoustic players and two electric players and then me so I hardly played at all. By the way, everyone brings their own instrument. Cheers!
If you play on another person's bass, let him see you slide your belt buckle toward your right hip so as not to scratch the bass.
It goes without saying that if you call a tune, make sure you know it from memory, including the melody. I was playing in a jam session where a tenor player walked in with a stack of Aebersold books to pass around. Didn't lend him much credibility.
+1 to what Mike said. Most (not all) jam sessions frown on bringing charts to the bandstand. I remember seeing a trumpet player ejected from a jam session, because he insisted on passing out charts to the rest of the guys on the bandstand.
+1 to Don's suggestion of moving your belt buckle toward your right hip when playing someone elses bass. I sure don't want your belt buckle scratches all over my bass.
+1 to Don's suggestion of moving your belt buckle toward your right hip when playing someone elses bass. I sure don't want your belt buckle scratches all over my bass.
If you wear a watch on your left wrist like most people do it might be a good idea to remove it if you plan on spending any time playing other people's basses. My Tag with it's metal band can scratch a bass when I go up in thumb position. I'm in the habit of putting it in my pocket everytime I play my bass or anyone elses. As far as how long to play, I grew up adhereing to the 2 tune rule. Assuming the band dosn't say "thank you very much" after the first tune! "In my circles "thank you very much" is a polite way of saying, "sit your ass down!" So if the first tune and second tune went well the thing to do is try to get eye contact with the host bassist and offer the bass back to him. That way you won't wear out your welcome. You might get to play more if you sounded good and the host bassist would rather have another drink, smoke or whatever and there are no other bassists that want to play waiting. I think playing more than two tunes, even if you sounded great and everybody loved you is arrogant if there are others waiting to play. That's just my humble opinion bases on my experiance growing up in Los Angeles, never played jazz in New York so I have no idea of how things like this get handled there. Most of the double bass gigs I got in LA when I was getting started there were from pros who heard me at jam sessions and recommeded me or called me to sub.
I was in the house band at a jazz jam once and after the other bassists played, a guitarist said "mind if I play your bass?" I said no problem. He was having a lot of fun and wanted to keep playing so he played for about an hour till the end of the night. After it was over he came up and said "that was fun! But I got a blister on my right fingertip that ripped open!" I went to pack up my bass and when I looked at it there was blood all over the strings and splattered all over the top of the bass! I took it home and didn't touch it for a couple days then cleaned it off with rubbing alcohol. Sick!
So, know when to quit! And beware of guitarists that want to play your upright!
So, know when to quit! And beware of guitarists that want to play your upright!
re: Ed's link... the singer bit made me spit jameson on my sofa. That chick has haunted my life for 20 years. Even better if she calls a bop tune and scats the head.
My 2c on jam etiquette and a rant, of which any and all can be skipped, of course.
The SHORT of it:
- Note the style of the jam: Bluegrass? Blues? Jazz? Folk? Rock?
- Don't solo over top of the vocalist, other soloists and wait for a signal to solo. (seems obvious? Read on...)
The LONG of it:
I'm not an accomplished player, but I was asked to join a regular blues jam and have myself become one of the regulars. Recently it was packed. More musicians showing up than audience members.
The place was beyond capacity when a keyboard player shows up with his electronic keyboard and a sax fiend, uhm friend in tow.
Keys pulls out his stand then his keyboard, sets them in front of me and then looks at me, the keyboard between us facing me. Stands and looks between the keyboard and me. I'm thinking "What? Am I supposed to move? How 'bout you turn your bleedin' keyboard around and play from where you're standing." I indicate I've nowhere to go.
Instead of sensibly turning the keyboard around Keys grabs the only empty chair in the place and and squishes it in between the keyboard and my bass, knocking the bass.
Then his sax buddy sets up to our left. Then they launch into a jazz standard... All the other players are there to play blues, it is after-all an ACOUSTIC BLUES session. A regular repeatedly called out for some blues from them, but all night keys and sax buddy are trying to play jazz standards. Thus the blues crew are getting more loud and aggressively ascerting the blues. One of the guitarist pulls rank and slips in some Spanish guitar.
A lull from everyone, but Keys is about to work Sax buddy into another jazzish standard so I start pounding out a 12 bar in G, slappity slap slap slappity slap a dap. Everyone joins in, once it's going I ease up a bit and it dies. Did that a few times, fired it up and got things going and then tried to meld into the background crickets. Ahh the importance of the bass!
Throughout this cacophony I can see the venue's owner is increasingly unhappy. Throughout this bombasstic spasstic evening my discontent is escalating too...
Because Sax Budday keeps banging his sax against my bass marring the finish. By the end of the night I was ready to punch him, but not just for that. He never once apologised. I point, nudge his sax away, he acknowledged once but no apologies were forthcoming.
He can play, but it's obvious he's not played in a group setting much, is nervous, and Keys is constantly having to encourage him. He needn't have been encouraged, he soloed over top of every other soloist and vocalist all frickin' night.
That made me even more angry, possibly as angry as him wacking my bass with his reedy instrument. Eventually another regular, a quiet guy, had enough and motioned for sax schmuck to zip it while the fiddler was taking a solo.
It was a freakin' war zone: volume wars, genre wars, space wars, aggressive attitudes developing at a normally laid back session. All this down to a clueless saxolist and ekeybored jazz agendist.
Even a noob such as myself figured out you solo only when given permission and you don't mess with other peoples solos or the vocal it's common sense. Argh. This idjit was oblivious throughout his night-long solo.
Topping it off, at the end of the evening as we're packing up sax budday full body slams into my bass while trying to get to his sax case. Still no apology.
Consequently, due to that evening, the venue owner has cancelled future jams until further notice.
Appalling.
The SHORT of it:
- Note the style of the jam: Bluegrass? Blues? Jazz? Folk? Rock?
- Don't solo over top of the vocalist, other soloists and wait for a signal to solo. (seems obvious? Read on...)
The LONG of it:
I'm not an accomplished player, but I was asked to join a regular blues jam and have myself become one of the regulars. Recently it was packed. More musicians showing up than audience members.
The place was beyond capacity when a keyboard player shows up with his electronic keyboard and a sax fiend, uhm friend in tow.
Keys pulls out his stand then his keyboard, sets them in front of me and then looks at me, the keyboard between us facing me. Stands and looks between the keyboard and me. I'm thinking "What? Am I supposed to move? How 'bout you turn your bleedin' keyboard around and play from where you're standing." I indicate I've nowhere to go.
Instead of sensibly turning the keyboard around Keys grabs the only empty chair in the place and and squishes it in between the keyboard and my bass, knocking the bass.
Then his sax buddy sets up to our left. Then they launch into a jazz standard... All the other players are there to play blues, it is after-all an ACOUSTIC BLUES session. A regular repeatedly called out for some blues from them, but all night keys and sax buddy are trying to play jazz standards. Thus the blues crew are getting more loud and aggressively ascerting the blues. One of the guitarist pulls rank and slips in some Spanish guitar.
A lull from everyone, but Keys is about to work Sax buddy into another jazzish standard so I start pounding out a 12 bar in G, slappity slap slap slappity slap a dap. Everyone joins in, once it's going I ease up a bit and it dies. Did that a few times, fired it up and got things going and then tried to meld into the background crickets. Ahh the importance of the bass!
Throughout this cacophony I can see the venue's owner is increasingly unhappy. Throughout this bombasstic spasstic evening my discontent is escalating too...
Because Sax Budday keeps banging his sax against my bass marring the finish. By the end of the night I was ready to punch him, but not just for that. He never once apologised. I point, nudge his sax away, he acknowledged once but no apologies were forthcoming.
He can play, but it's obvious he's not played in a group setting much, is nervous, and Keys is constantly having to encourage him. He needn't have been encouraged, he soloed over top of every other soloist and vocalist all frickin' night.
That made me even more angry, possibly as angry as him wacking my bass with his reedy instrument. Eventually another regular, a quiet guy, had enough and motioned for sax schmuck to zip it while the fiddler was taking a solo.
It was a freakin' war zone: volume wars, genre wars, space wars, aggressive attitudes developing at a normally laid back session. All this down to a clueless saxolist and ekeybored jazz agendist.
Even a noob such as myself figured out you solo only when given permission and you don't mess with other peoples solos or the vocal it's common sense. Argh. This idjit was oblivious throughout his night-long solo.
Topping it off, at the end of the evening as we're packing up sax budday full body slams into my bass while trying to get to his sax case. Still no apology.
Consequently, due to that evening, the venue owner has cancelled future jams until further notice.
Appalling.
Feral Feline's story shows why a session needs someone in charge who can take control of a situation like that. At the weekly session I often run (a jazz jam), those who want to sit in are first reminded that it is a jazz session, and no, sorry, we won't play your original folk-reggae jam tune. If someone does end up on stage and whatever they are playing clearly does not fit it (or if they have bad stage manners, like constantly running into my bass), they will be asked to leave after one song, max.
Signs you are being asked to leave:
Signs you are being asked to leave:
- I tell you, "thanks a lot, man"
- I say, "thanks for playing"
- I then invite up someone else on your instrument.
- I say, "We're going to bring someone else up now"
- If none of this works, I say, "Please leave the stage"
