Sharing my two cents' worth here for the greater good...

I'm back from Lafayette where I went for BlackPot Fest, which was a blast, as well as all the other fun jams and activities around it. I was also delighted to be stranded in Lafayette for a couple extra days due to the Sandy storm in New England.

It was also great to see and jam with some of you guys ( @ Jamey, Jon & Roger).

After reflecting on it, I decided to share my thoughts (and one bad experience) with you guys on the touchy subject of JAM PROTOCOL & DYNAMICS.

Over the years, I have observed or participated in numerous jam sessions. I think I've seen the Good the Bad and the Ugly in that department.

To me, a great jam should be about SHARING, COMMUNION, INCLUSIVENESS & LEARNING. At the same time, there must be elements of SOUND COHESIVENESS & SELF-RESTRAIN on the part of less experienced players to keep a certain standard of SOUND TIGHTNESS. It's all about balance.

The great majority of jam sessions I observed or participated in last week met the above criteria and were fun & entertaining.

With the "ONE ACCORDION RULE" that prevails in Cajun jams, we've all seen situations where ONE accordion player acts as if he "owns" the jam, plays and monopolizes the jam endlessly and doesn't "share" playing time with his fellow other accordion players...

That is the kind of bad jam dynamics I experienced last week at the Blue Moon Saloon "public" jam on Wednesday, Oct 31. I showed up with my accordion & fiddle & a couple of friends fiddlers. There were already two accordion players sitting next to each other, two guys in their late 20s/early 30s. Boy, was I ever glad to have brought my fiddle with me that night! My accordion was on the floor in front of me on the floor. For over an hour, they kept alternating the "play time" to each other, avoiding eye contacts with me or ignoring the few subtle attempts that I made during the night to indicate that I'd like to "participate too", even when they were out of songs and took mini breaks..until they figured out what to play next. One of my friend-fiddlers who participated in the jam as well is a well seasoned fiddler who learned with the Balfa Brothers. He tried to get a tune going but the two "accordion gods" ignored him too and started a different tune.... You know what I mean? After about an 1 hour, one of them "made me the favour" of offering to play a bit, which I did. I played maybe 4-5 tunes, then I had the gentle courtesy of returning the favour back to him, but that favour never came back to me..

My hope here is that this constructive and candid feedback serves the greater good to improve overall jam quality for all participants.

I invite you to share your thoughts on that... What do you think is the best way to satisfy several accordion players who show up at a jam?

I haven't been to the Wednesday night Bluemoon jam in years so I wouldn't know how it is over there these days but I'm sorry to hear about your experience. Next time just be blunt and tell the guy(s) taking all the accordion time that there are others waiting to play. Sometimes that's what it takes, as people often don't pick up on subtle hints.

Jam protocol seems to be regional or related to the group of participants. Some of the most fun, and most useful jams are those that start with the least experienced players leading the tune and setting the tempo. The lead during a song proceeding around the group so that everyone who wishes to play gets a ride. The leader may even call for 'all fiddles' or 'everyone play' on the final round. As the jam progresses the more experienced players get the lead, the tempo picks up and those who are less experienced can accept or decline the challenge of joining in. Playing with others is the ultimate learning experience as music is as much a listening skill as a playing skill.

I play button accordion at a lot of Irish sessions and the way they work is that the person running the session will play a bunch of tunes to get things started. Then he/she will go around the group and each player has an opportunity to play. This way everyone gets a chance to play their choice of tunes once or twice during the session, depending on how many musicians show up. Some times we will have as many as three accordions playing a tune. This is OK in an Irish session. All are welcome to play as long as you know the tune. We always have two or three fiddles and a couple flutes. Usually there is one guitarist but there have been as many as three. It sounds great and a good time is had by all.

We'll, i just "enjoyed" a folk session consisting of 5 banjo's, 2 five strings, one tenor, one plectrum and a banjo uke, aaaaaaaaarrghhhhhhhhh. Besides that: one and a half fiddle, one nice anglo concertina player who didn't dare to get his weapon out, and a guitarist. PS one banjoist is very well pictured here below, he was truly the loudest one, belching out songs like "Ice Cream" without knowing the words.



- Nout

Nout, was that the monthly session in Zoeterwoude? I thought Bas van der Poll and Monique were there? (for the Braves: from the Cajun Company) - I wished I could have come too, but I had a gig - but I didn't miss very much ??

Hi Maz,

"What do you think is the best way to satisfy several accordion players who show up at a jam?"

Well, some once said: "Trying to please everyone, pleases no one. Not even yourself."

Seriously though, I feel your pain .. I've been there too. I guess one just
has to develop a thick skin.

There will be more good jams in the future.

And remember, there's a special place in "heck" for people who hog jams

--bn

This is the way the jam at Savoys Music used to go. Might still today.
To start the show, the old men accordion players would set the pace one at a time. Sometimes 2 or 3 of them were there to wait their turn. As time went on, usually only 1 Master was showing up. Yes, the accordion led the jam, everyone else followed in key, in time, and not too dam loud! Better not screw up, or they'd start looking at you and sometimes let you know to get it together. They played easy old traditional cajun songs. Why, because they knew this way only, the old men. The Cajun way. No glitz, bells, and whistles. Very easy for beginner musicians to pick up on and follow. The sound was easy and unplugged and enjoyable for the most part! There was good coffee, boudin, cracklin, donuts, etc. as long as someone thought to bring some. The biggest thing was that it happened almost every Saturday morning and you could count on going and who would be there and how the playing order would go. Established pattern.

Only after the Masters decided they were done did some young accordion player get in front of the other musicians to play. The way you played won acceptance or failed by the looks on the musicians faces. If they were smiling and hooping and hollering, you did good. Straight or strained faces and quietness usually meant you needed to practice your presentation a lil more. The fiddles, guitars, etc stayed on to play with the accordion player until 1200 noon. At 1200 noon, YOU WERE DONE. No exceptions.

You'd work your butt off to practice at home so that you'd receive acceptance from the other musicians when you went to jam with them. It was very intimidating, but it worked.

We were trying to avoid beginners that were not quite ready, and show offs, which, I'd hate to say it, jam sessions are a place where they tend to gather. You knew when you were good enough to get up front and play.....When they asked you to play! Not when you barged your way in!

I like to do jams like I do dancing: Do a waltz and a two-step, then pass it on to the next person to do the same (or go find another partner, in the case of dancing). If the energy is REALLY good, maybe stay for a couple more, but then PASS IT ON. That way it moves quickly and everybody gets a turn, the wrong person can't bog things down very long, and things stay interesting.

And only whip a song out if you know it backwards and forwards, and people can follow it; you might still mess up, but you're not likely to have a meltdown.

Just my two cents. I'm learning as I go . . .

In the Savoy jam, if you were an accordion player that wasn't good enough, was it okay for you to play along, if you were quiet enough and far away enough? Was that a regular part of how people learned? Or was it pure woodshedding on your own until you thought you were good enough?

I can woodshed all day long, but there's nothing for learning a song like playing it with other people, even if it's in the shadows . . .

How did you learn?

Bad jam = 3 or 4 accordions or 2 triangles or 20 guitars. I don't mind multiple fiddles, though.

Also, those who use the, "this is dance music, we must play it at a specific tempo". Or the jams that are too arrogant to include any but a specific group of yuppie losers (out of Louisiana people, mostly).

One thing I know is that these jams are not about learning the accordion. No one is going to teach you anything. But they are inspiring and its fun to play with a group. Sometimes there are professionals there and if so you are probably not going to be able to play.

Thanks for the input yall. Leslie, interesting idea you mentioned of starting with the worst and leading up to better players...

My first reply to you didnt seem to go through.
I learned by wood shedding it, but also by playing low volume on the outside circles of these jam sessions. I always tried to make my accordion sound as close to the lead accordion as possible. My finger licks were seldom exactly like the Master in the lead, but I was making the same sound more or less. After I'd get good at songs, I'd embellish the song and try to make it sound prettier than the lead while at the jam session, but in my own quiet corner.

If you seemed like you were doing good, someone always starts to notice you and they encourage you to go up and try a song or two towards the end of the jam.

But back then, Cajun accordion players were more rare. Not a dime a dozen and spread out all over the US ans Canada like they are today. You had plenty of chances to play back then to take your turn. The players were more authentic I guess. But by no means were they perfect! They lacked one fundamental thing. They would never be able to play or experience the same time line that produced the Masters! The time lines of days gone by.

But one more thing. I think it was much better if you had the time and occassion to attend the same jams over and over again. You know, live close to the jam. In other words, it would be hard for a traveller that has to go 100s or 1000s of miles once a year to attend one jam at some festival in Louisiana or something. Makes it harder for you to become part of the group and be recognized to play. Not being a local makes you sort of an unpredictable Maverick. Cajun's for one, take a while to cozy up to strangers sometimes. Not always, but sometimes. Especially strangers that are attempting to show these Cajuns up at their own game. Just sayin. No offense meant even though it may sound like I am trying to ostricize non Cajuns.

I myself (a Cajun) have given up accordion. Too much trouble in pleasing spectators who will never be able to relate to your choice of art unless they themselves learn to play accordion. And then, the "time line" factor comes into play in this situation too. Cajun musicians....A dieing breed. At least, that's the way I'm starting to see it. Sorry if I have burst your bubble.

Hebert, can you clarify what you mean by the "time line" factor? I don't understand what you mean.

"They would never be able to play (in) or experience the same time line that produced the Masters! The time lines of days gone by."

Whew, to explain that would cause a paradox in the modern day accordion playing time line continuem! LOL

ever play for people who knew hardly anything else besides cajun accordion and or fiddle music? Never heard rock n roll or modern bubble gum country. No, you probably haven't. Ever played for people not at your dance just to get slap drunk and wallow in their own sorrows or criticize the bands playing, or talk and toil about depressive events of the times, but instead were there to gather with friends and family to celebrate innocent life as it was. They had no sensory overload from cell phones, 300 channels of TV programs and false sensational news media hype pulling at their every emotional strings all day every day, their $1 could buy bread, the milk, and the eggs and have change left over, etc, etc. A time line where things were not necessarily easier on the body or person, but more pure, true, and easier on the soul. A time when ideas were new or a musician could turn on the radio and listen to a great new or old song that would inspire a new Cajun song or crazy/happy new licks on the accordion. A time line where just about everything hadn't been done already?

Have you ever played for a child who does nothing but rejoice in your song by staring wide eyed, screaming happily, or just cutting loose and dancing for as long as you are able to play your accordion. If you have, then you experienced a miniscule attribute of the "time lines" of old. Startin to catch muh drift yet?

Maz - you raised a good point, not all jam tastes the same. A one-accordion-rule is not a jam, you may as well be in the woodshed, but more like a show-and-tell. Fundamentally you must rely on the kindness of strangers. Though this concept was deployed by Miss Scarlett it's not universally accepted.

I thought that was Blanche Dubois . . .