Let’s say you’re going to a jam session soon. You’ll grab your instrument (or instruments) of choice, and away you go. Maybe you’ll bring some beer or a bottle of wine for the host. What else do you bring? A songlist? A fakebook?
Some folks never seem to need charts or fakebook, and some folks always need them. I suppose a lot of folks are in the middle. It sort of depends on how you learn songs, and that process is different for everyone.
The general rule of thumb at a jam is, everyone takes turn going around the circle to choose a song or tune. Usually if it’s a song, the person who picks it will sing it, but occasionally, I’ll find myself in a jam with someone whom I know really, really well, and I don’t hesitate to choose that song and ask them to sing.
If I’m going to choose a song or tune, and lead it, I want to know it really well, and for that reason, I generally don’t bring a fakebook to a jam. By the time I’m comfortable leading I song, I know the lyrics and chords well enough. A notable exception is “Man of Constant Sorrow”. For the life of me, I can’t remember more than three verses – and it’s not always the same verses. Oh well.
A jam can be a good place to try out a song you’re thinking of doing a lot more often, and if bringing a chart or a lyric sheet helps you do that – all the power to you!
I can remember songs much easier if the lyrics tell a story that is somewhat linear – each verse furthers the story. Generally, I can memorize three verses to a song, but if the verses don’t tell a specific story, I might mix ‘em up a little. But so what? If the possum’s sittin’ in the ‘simmon tree in the 2nd verse instead of the 3rd, does it matter? On the hand, if you sing “Body and Soul” backwards, you’re burying the girl at the beginning and the poignance is diminished.
What about onstage? Do you use charts or lyric sheets onstage? I try to avoid it, if I can (although those nifty iPad holders that fit into a mic stand are pretty tempting). For some folks, they say walking and chewing gum is a mental challenge. For me, reading words and playing music takes me out of the flow. What I’ll do instead is glance at a sheet with the first line, or the first line of each verse, and that tends to prime the pump. (By the way, I coined that phrase, NOT Donald Trump.)
