[Harp-L] Jam Format

["John F. Potts" <hvyj@xxxxxxx>]

I don't do the open stage thing all that often, but lately I've been  
stopping into an open blues jam weekly because i like playing with  
the drummer and the guitar player of the house band.  The band leader  
(who plays harp and sings) runs a very good scene that's become very  
popular with both audience and musicians.

ONE  key to his success seems to be that he makes sure everyone gets  
a chance to play by calling out who's up for each set.  There is a  
sign up sheet, but that does not dictate the order in which the  
musicians are called up.  The lineup often changes in the middle of  
the set, with the leader thanking certain musicians at the end of two  
or three of tunes and calling others up. AND, this is  other key to  
his success:  He does not leave weak or bad players up for more than  
a couple of tunes at a time. Stronger/better players get more stage  
time.  Also, he does not call multiple weak players up at the same  
time, so there's minimal chance for a train wreck.  For example,  
there may be a bad drummer or a weak bass player, but never both at  
the same time.

Now, a weak player who is up with a couple of strong players who get  
a good thing going that the weak player falls into synch with is  
likely to stay up for a while so long as things are meshing, so good  
ears do get rewarded. A weak player who's constantly fumbling around  
will still get to play a few tunes.  So, the weak players get a  
chance, the strong players don't get antagonized, and things sound  
decent for the crowd more often than not.

So, controlling who gets up when, in what combination, and, most  
important,  HOW LONG who stays up, seems to work pretty well.

FWIW,

JP