Whether you’re a seasoned professional musician who’s looking for a bit of light relief or someone for whom music is purely an enjoyable hobby, we all want to let off a bit of steam every once in a while and just jam. In this blog, we’ll look into a couple of ways to find other musicians to jam with…
It might sound a little obvious, but jamming can mean different things to different people. For example, if you’re a jazz or blues musician, then jamming will often involve a set of “standards” or “real book” tunes, with a lot of improvisation. However, if you’re looking to set up a band, then having a jam might involve you all learning some of the same songs and playing them together, from start to finish, following the structure.
As such, it’s a good idea to make sure everyone has a clear understanding of what’s going on beforehand. The last thing you want from a jam session (especially if it’s just for fun!) is for anyone not to be able to take part, for whatever reason.
However, before we get to that stage, you need to find someone to jam with! Here are some classic routes for discovering the Lennon to your McCartney (or visa versa).
Jam nights
By no means a dying breed, jam nights can be found in the most surprising of places. If you live in a big city, you might want to look online for music venues in your area that will often put on blues, jazz, or other jam nights. While these will usually occur during the week, they are often a great place to meet new musicians and have fun.
While they can be controversial, you can also look for open mic nights that might be put on in bars, pubs or other venues.
If you’re in a more rural location, jam nights can often be found in the back room of a pub or village hall. Remember that if you can’t find a jam night that you’d like to attend… why not start your own?!
Social media
Social media is probably now the go-to for getting in touch with new musicians. In this respect, finding communities of musicians who share your passion has never been easier!
Try looking up the type of genre you’re looking to jam in for new Facebook groups to join, or maybe look up some of the more general Facebook groups designed to put musicians in touch. You can also search out groups of musicians based specifically in your area.
If your jam is just going to be for fun, it is best to steer clear of any Facebook groups with strict rules on who can and cannot post. Some will be strictly dedicated to professionals seeking people for gigs, so read the rules on each group before posting in them.
Remember that you can always look up more advice on using Twitter, Facebook or Instagram as a musician.
Online sites
Of course, social media isn’t the only option for finding musicians online to jam with. There are several dedicated websites, such as Join My Band, where you can post ads online looking for like-minded musicians.
If you’re looking to jam with musicians for professional reasons (perhaps to audition a new band member or someone to supplement your line up hosting a jam night), then you can also look through the various solo musician categories on the Last Minute Musicians directory, when you can find guitarists, bass players, drummers, keys players and much, much more.
Traditional routes
If you’re prepared to get out from behind the keyboard and hit the pavement, there are still several classic routes for finding musicians to jam with that have been tried and tested.
Perhaps the most classic solution of them all is the music shop window. Many of your local instrument dealers will have a section of their shop dedicated to adverts for musicians where you can leave a flyer, poster, business card or even just a handwritten note.
While this might not get as much attention as an ad online, there is nothing to say that you won’t find exactly who you are looking for. In a way, this is already hyper-targeted – chances are if someone sees your ad in this location, they are going to be pretty local themselves.
You can always just ask behind the counter as well – maybe the owners will know someone appropriate.
Then you have the other classic option that is exploring your extended network. If you’re looking for a specific instrumentalist to jam with (perhaps with a view of adding their instrument to your band’s line up) you can always ask around any musicians that you already know. You might be surprised just how tight-knit the musical community is in the UK and how far you can reach with simple word of mouth advertising.
Music in education
If you’re a young person looking at their college/ 6th form or university options, you can always consider studying music. While you should take all sorts of different factors into account when making life choices, studying music (at whatever level) will be a brilliant way to expand your musical network and find new and interesting musicians.
Naturally, nothing stops you from using some combination of all of the above to find musicians to jam with!
Do you have any top tips on how to find musicians to jam with? Leave them in the comments below…
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