Advice

Hi! Had some news I'd like to share. I might be going to my 1st jam session on thurs! I'm very nervous, but very excited! This will be my 1st time doing something like this. This is a big step for me, way out of my comfort zone. I'm hoping it'll go well. I bet I'll love it, and wanna do it more. Anything I should know going into my 1st jam session? One more thing, on the 15th marked 29 months of takin guitar! What an amazing ride!! Any advice?

Just relax.. Jam sessions are just for having fun.. Socializing with people with a similar interest. Have your gear ready. Take a note pad and pen or electronics means. This is a good opportunity to start a network of fellow musicians.
Good luck and enjoy

Bring an extra set of strings, a broken string will take you out of a jam fast. Bring an extra pick, who knows were they go sometimes when you drop them. Bring an extra chord, someone may have a peddle you would like to try.

If you make a mistake, just keep going. If you don't enjoy it......... duh that won't happen.

What about just changing strings right before you go? I've never had a new string break on me, but I guess that doesn't mean it won't happen. Has anyone had a new string break on them?

Just relax and go with the rhythm. Make regular eye contact with the other musicians to help keep you on the same page, particularly if you're jamming songs you've never played/heard before. And don't be afraid to make yourself heard. It can be tempting, if you are nervous and have never jammed with anyone before, to keep your volume low and let your sound be drowned out. Keep a level volume and show them what you can do!

Originally Posted by: bbzswa777What about just changing strings right before you go? I've never had a new string break on me, but I guess that doesn't mean it won't happen. Has anyone had a new string break on them?

I sure have.. Don't forget to complain (nicely)to the company. Also write to the manufacture. The company replaced the whole set. The manufacture sent a carton of 12 sets. Only wished the string set wasn't an experimental (heavy ) gauge.

Awesome!!! It's great that this takes you out of your comfort zone. Experiences like this help take your playing to a new level.

All great advice here...I would add one more thing: be sure to listen, actively listen, to what the other musicians are playing. Try to make what you play fit in with the music the other are playing. Let yourself go and get lost in the music and the groove. It can be a very surreal experience...let it happen. It's more about playing in the groove than showing off technique or musical knowledge.

I would also suggest recording it...but be sure to ask the others if it's ok.

Just remember it's about fun. You are not auditioning...you are jamming!

Let us know how it goes!

I agree with the other responses here. I think you will have a really enjoyable time. I was recently invited to jam with some guys I got talking to in our local pub. They were good, semi-professional guitarists in a well-established covers band. I was really nervous (being a mere bedroom player) but these fellas couldn't have been more encouraging and supportive. So it turned out great, and I hope your evening does too. Best wishes, Steve

Originally Posted by: compart1I sure have.. Don't forget to complain (nicely)to the company. Also write to the manufacture. The company replaced the whole set. The manufacture sent a carton of 12 sets. Only wished the string set wasn't an experimental (heavy ) gauge.

I recently had one come undone at the ball end. Never had that happen before...hope it never happens again :-).

It's a matter of personal perference, but I've found that my playing is best on strings that have a bit of tarnish on them. Otherwise, the will slip on me when I try to do bends sometimes. I change my strings once a month and I try to do my strings changes about a week before I know I'll be playing out or rehearsing with band.

So what we all want to know is... how did it go?

I regularly host jams and I have some advice for folks attending a jam, based on my experience.

1. Tune up before you get up.

- My least favourite opening to a jam session is "standard tuning in full volume". It wastes time when folk could be playing, and is extremely irritating to the audience. Don't forget, at a jam, it's likely a lot of your audience are musicians, and we KNOW you don't need to be putting us through this!!!

- Have an electronic tuner that is bright enough to see in low light since you might be at the side of a stage or still at your seat, and pubs are not often brightly lit.

- Don't assume your guitar is still in tune if you tuned before you left your house.

- If you put on new strings before playing live, stretch the heck out of them and re-tune. Then do it again. And again. Until the tuning stabilises. You don't want to have the strings go out of tune on your very first two-fret bend when you are on stage

2. Practice standing up.

- weird as it sounds, if you're in the habit of practicing sitting down, it can be hard to get used to playing standing up, facing forward and not being able to see the fretboard. Don't make your first jam the place where you find this out.

3. If you're planning on singing, practice into a microphone.

- If you have to spend your time on stage trying to figure out how to stand in front of a mic to sing into it, you will forget how to play and how to sing, and what the words are of your song

- When you practice, practice into a microphone. It doesn't matter if the mic is plugged in, although that does help. It doesn't even have to be a real microphone so long as it simulates the experience of standing in front of one and singling directly into it

- Don't be alarmed if you can hear yourself sing really loudly on stage. The sound guy will ensure you're not too loud or too quiet out front. But don't be afraid to ask for a change to the monitoring so you get what you need to be able to perform


In summary, the hardest part of playing on stage involves almost everything else that isn't about playing the guitar. It is an extremely alien environment until you're used to it.


For the record, I do all my practicing in front of a mic, standing up. I use amp modelling for the guitar, and both it and the mic are plugged into a small mixer and i monitor on a really good set of headphones, so that i can really hear what's going on.