I have been fortunate enough to travel a great deal and I still get to travel quite a bit; of course there is always music to play. If one desires to be respectful of the people and places they visit, they tend to learn a little bit about the language, cultural norms, and the customs. For example, it is insulting to show the bottom of your foot to someone in the Middle East, so the common American custom of sitting cross legged with the shin or ankle propped on the knee is socially unacceptable. Similarly, in many Asian cultures writing someone’s name in red ink is taboo since that is reserved for the deceased. You might not like seeing your name listed among the dead either had you been raised to see things from that perspective. Likewise, in many Asian countries, one should probably refrain from playing the “I got your nose” game that is fairly common in America when playing with little kids. The fist with the thumb sticking between the fingers to represent the nose is the same as what we would call “flipping the bird” or something along those lines. I am sure many of you can add a number of other funny stories about committing or watching others commit cultural atrocities. They can sometimes be quite entertaining. However, more often than not these well meaning but unknowing interlopers leave their host with a poor representation that unfortunately gets applied to all until someone comes along to prove them wrong.
Cliché as it sounds, if you take a little time to watch what they do in Rome, you can do as the Romans do should you ever visit. The great thing about Rome, and most other locations for that matter, is that you can take a little time in advance to prepare yourself to fit in. However, it is still advisable to watch what other people are doing before launching off into something you read … on the internet…or anywhere else. Having traveled a lot both abroad and locally and participating in jams across the country and the world, I have noticed that jams are often a lot like a country all to themselves. Many of you probably attend a jam regularly; it is always hosted and facilitated by the same person or small group. There are those who are always in attendance. There are others who occasionally attend, but are known to the regular attendees. Then there are the new folks who just heard about the jam or were invited by a regular attendee. The host and the regular jammers pretty much know how things are going to go. They frequently will know who will do what song, what key it will be played in, and even who will and who will not take a break on the song. They are the “Romans” of the jam. Then there are those who are visiting. The “Visitors” won’t know any of the “normal” songs or procedures of that particular jam.
Unfortunately, I have seen poor jam etiquette on both sides of this equation over the years. I have seen ungracious hosts and “Romans” as well as rude guests. It really is like going to a different country where you can see some foreigners and locals alike being rude toward one another. Everything from “Visitors” being asked not to play by the “Romans” to “Vistors” pulling a chair to the middle of a jam circle to create a jam of their own while excluding a large portion of the jammers, to include the host. There are others, but the point is not to provide a laundry list of what not to do in these situations, but rather provide some ideas of how to get along when you are visiting a foreign land, Jamland if you will, or how to treat visitors who are venturing out of their comfort zone to play some music in your own little town of Jamland. Of course this only applies to open jams where folks are encouraged to come play in Jamland. There will always be private jams and in those cases, the President of North Jamland has the final say on who can enter and uninvited jammers may be asked to leave; one probably shouldn’t plan on attending if not invited and certainly should not be offended if asked to refrain from joining the jam in such cases. This is not the case for most jams, you know the ones where there are tourist flyers saying “visit our town in Jamland and bring a friend” or where everyone who attends is telling anybody who plays an instrument to visit the “Jamland of the Free”.
There is plenty out there on jam etiquette, but it really does not have to be that hard. Probably the first and foremost thing to remember is that hosts and visitors alike are there to have fun. I suppose fun can be a relative term, but for the purposes here let us agree that getting together with a bunch of people and playing music is fun. I think most folks in jamland could agree on that in general terms, even those exclusionists in North Jamland would likely agree to that definition in principle. As a host or active citizen in your local town of Jamland, it is important to be welcoming to visitors. Remember that many may be beginning players or they may be more advanced, but just shy about mixing with other folks. These visitors can add diversity to the jam that may evolve into a broken record without new influence and material. Remember that you may have standard ways of doing certain tunes that your visitor will have no way of knowing. It is always worthwhile to provide a brief explanation of the tune before kicking it off so that the visitors can find their place and contribute to the jam. It is also worth considering that your visitor may do a song that a regular typical does and one should not be surprised if the visitor does it a differently than your are accustomed to since they come from a different region of Jamland.
Visitors, on the other hand, should do some prep work before visiting. Take some time early on to watch, listen, and learn about who is doing what and how they are doing it. After all, this isn’t the Jamland you are used to and things may be a little different. Perhaps learn a couple of tunes that you are prepared to sing. Similarly, a brief explanation about how you plan to play the tune is helpful for the group. If you aren’t prepared to sing, perhaps there are some standard tunes that you are prepared to kick off or take a break on. If it is a standard, chances are someone at the jam will know the words and can sing it, but then there is the tricky situation where, “I learned the break in G and they want to do the tune in B flat”. Depending on the instrument, this could present a challenge. I have seen folks play the tune they memorized in A that they asked someone else to sing. Of course the singer’s voice worked best in C for that particular tune. Everyone was nice throughout the tune even though nobody could make out what the visitor was playing, but it was a teachable moment at the conclusion. It turned out quite nicely as the visitor learned that you have to play in the key that everyone else is playing in and now he is a regular contributing member of the local Jamland society. Visitors should also be aware that there are likely some tunes that are done differently than they are accustomed to; perhaps the addition of a minor chord or a chord progression that is a slight variation from “standard”. Visitors should be observant and flexible so that they can adapt and not only fit in, but also contribute to the group.
So similar to visiting foreign countries or even different regions of your own, visiting a new town in Jamland can be interesting, broadening, and fun. If you are a citizen in good standing of your own portion of Jamland, don’t be afraid to venture out and visit elsewhere. You will meet new people, learn new tunes or new ways to play old tunes, and if all else fails, you should have some fun in the process. If you have visitors, be welcoming and inclusive. They may be the catalyst that helps your jam along or they may become a regular citizen of your jam that contributes to the fun for years to come. Regardless, so long as we all remember the point is to have fun making music together then no matter where you end up in Jamland there will be music and fun. So explore, have fun, and remember, when in Jamland, do as the locals do.
