{"id":6321,"date":"2014-08-01T21:21:22","date_gmt":"2014-08-01T21:21:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bluesguitarunleashed.com\/blog\/?p=6321"},"modified":"2019-02-19T17:27:21","modified_gmt":"2019-02-20T01:27:21","slug":"being-ready-for-your-first-open-jam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluesguitarunleashed.com\/blog\/being-ready-for-your-first-open-jam\/","title":{"rendered":"Being Ready For Your First Open Jam"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sweaty palms… check!<\/p>\n

Tunnel vision… check!<\/p>\n

Forgetfulness… check!<\/p>\n

Panic… check!<\/p>\n

Do it again? Absolutely!!!!!!<\/p>\n

There are very few things in this world as thrilling and at the same time petrifying as getting up and playing with a group at your first open jam.<\/p>\n

In some places they call them “open mic nights” or in some places they call them “open jams” or in some places they might not call it much of anything but the concept is generally the same… a “house band” usually plays a few tunes, and then they let people from the audience come on up and sit in.<\/p>\n

Sometimes guys from the house band will stay, and sometimes just about everyone will be replaced by someone from the crowd.<\/p>\n

Sometimes you’ll have to sign up ahead of time with an organizer of some sort (at the venue) but usually it’s not that formal in my experience… just depends on the crowd and how busy it is.<\/p>\n

Regardless of how it works or what it’s called, there are 9 things you can do to make sure you have the best experience possible:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Go observe first. Most open jams happen on the same night of the week every week or every other week… at worst once a month. The first time, just go and watch. Take notes on what tunes people play and notice the overall vibe and flow of the place. Look to see if there is an organizer or if people just sort of raise their hand as they go.<\/li>\n
  2. When you do finally go with the intent to play, have 2 or 3 songs ready, not just 1. It’s possible someone will have recently played the song you wanted to play and you’ll need to choose an alternate.<\/li>\n
  3. Keep your song choices to semi-popular tunes – The Thrill Is Gone, Tore Down, Going Down, Pride & Joy, Statesboro Blues, Texas Flood, and many others are “household names” in the blues. Asking to play something that no one has ever heard of may get you some looks that won’t set anyone’s mind at ease.<\/li>\n
  4. Introduce yourself as a first-timer when you get up for the first time. This is a HUGE deal and the guys on stage should know it. Don’t pretend to be a pro when you aren’t (I can assure you, it will be obvious.) Revel in the fact that this a new thing and you are thrilled to be a part of it.<\/li>\n
  5. Ask for help from the other guys on stage in setting your level. No one likes a guitar player that gets up and cranks the amp to 10 and drowns everyone out. Likewise, no one wants it to sound like the case of the disappearing guitarist when it’s your turn to solo. You want a level that blends in but isn’t overpowering and the other guys on stage will have a better idea of where that is. So once you pick your level and have an idea of your sound, just look around and strum a chord and ask if that sounds about right. They’ll let you know if you need to go up or down.<\/li>\n
  6. Bring your own guitar, and any pedals if you require them. You might bring an amp, but leave it in the car. Most venues will have amps already on stage and it takes too long to change them out for every new player. If it turns out you need or can use your amp, it’s not far to go grab it.<\/li>\n
  7. Practice setting up and plugging in your gear and getting it to the desired settings quickly – a sharpie can be a big help to mark overdrive pedals when you can’t see them well in a darkened room. The last thing you want is for your solo to be twice as loud as everything else all of a sudden because you forgot to set the level on your pedal!<\/li>\n
  8. Remember that Overdrive tones are trickier to mix in with the band than clean tones. Clean tones are quick and then fade, overdrive creates the illusion of more sustain and that can come across as louded. It may or may not actually be louder, but because it is louder longer before it decays, it takes up more “sonic real estate” and you need to keep it under control. Get really good at turning the volume down on your guitar when you are not playing to kill the buzz that inevitable comes through as well.<\/li>\n
  9. Remember that everyone has a first time and they remember those butterflies and stage fright too. They want to help you or they wouldn’t be there in most cases. And if you see that it isn’t a supportive environment… it’s probably best to move on to one that is.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If you don’t know of any open jams in your area check openmikes.org or your local craigslist or any local blues society websites or mailers. Sometimes in smaller towns without bars people will organize jams outside of public places.<\/p>\n

    At the end of the day it’s a thrill unlike no other, and you’ll learn more from playing with other people than you can possibly imagine. Not to mention you’ll likely make some friends for life.<\/p>\n

    Want 5 Plug-N-Play solos in the most common blues feels and keys for your next jam? Check out 5 Easy Blues Solos<\/a>…<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Sweaty palms… check! Tunnel vision… check! Forgetfulness… check! Panic… check! Do it again? Absolutely!!!!!! There are very few things in this world as thrilling and at the same time petrifying as getting up and playing with a group at your first open jam. In some places they call them “open mic nights” or in some […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluesguitarunleashed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6321"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluesguitarunleashed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluesguitarunleashed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluesguitarunleashed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluesguitarunleashed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6321"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/bluesguitarunleashed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6321\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7563,"href":"https:\/\/bluesguitarunleashed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6321\/revisions\/7563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluesguitarunleashed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluesguitarunleashed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluesguitarunleashed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}