Good stuff Jan.  I am hoping to participate in some group sessions 2016.   

I didn't start playing any instrument until 3 years ago.   When I first started,  my song list grew rapidly, maybe a hundred songs.  Now though,  I concentrate on being proficient on a short list of songs.

You are pretty amazing.  Hopefully what you have written, will be valuable to the originator of this thread.

Actually, Terry, I just finished making a list on Excel (so I can re-alphabetize after new additions) and there are 225 songs on the list.  Most of these I know how to play, some are ones that still need some work, and a dozen or so I've heard before but they're still pretty new to me.

I never take tab to a jam, but then I play mostly by ear.  Even with a song I've never heard before, I "watch hands", figure out the major chords and strum those--or, at the least, if they're playing in D, just strum a D chord every time it seems to fit.  That's how I started in jams when almost every song was new to me.  Or you can mute the strings and strum the rhythm.  I rarely sit out a tune, unless my hands are tired or I just want to listen and enjoy the others play for a bit.  Very rarely do I end up in a jam where there are unfamiliar (to me!) complicated fiddle tunes being played at breakneck speed, changing keys with every other tune, so that it's hard to do more than tap my foot and nod my head. 

Sometimes a song will be played that is unfamiliar to me and the person next to me has the tab and I look on theirs...but I'm not a very good sight reader of tab and find it difficult to keep up, unless I just play the first note in each measure (which is a perfectly reasonable thing to do, by the way).  Also, if the tab is pretty complicated, you can just play the notes on the melody string. 

I've been singing and learning new songs with my family, school, choirs, education classes, church, scouts, and dulcimer events for nearly 65 years, so it's not really surprising that there's such a long list that I know.  I encourage everyone to start a list of songs they know, and to try to find them on their dulcimer.  Even if all you can do is say: "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing"....I think it begins on the 2nd fret", then that's a great start.

I don't think any of us, as children, set out to "memorize" Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star or Happy Birthday or Mary Had a Little Lamb, but we learned them and our mouths know how to move in such a way as to produce the vocal renditions of them...or we can hum them or whistle them, or pick them out on a piano or other instrument.  The more tunes you can hum or whistle, the better you'll be at jams, I think!

Hi Jan

That's a very impressive list of songs you listed.  If I may ask, when you play these songs in a jam, etc., do you use tab or do you have all the songs to memory?

I've played with a group of people, usually around 15, two times.  My only experience with jams.

Most everyone were using tab.  I could only play maybe one third of the songs,  having no tab book and playing by memory.  

I was okay with this, as I love to watch and listen to others play.  But both times I wished I had tab.  

I counted 22 of your songs that I have to memory, so I would have to set out more than half.  

Lisa said,

 "...what you actually have is a group of players who know each other and have played these songs before.  Or they're playing within a genre that has a core set of tunes that everybody knows.  Or they're improvising within a narrow set of boundaries, like with 12-bar blues.  Or... they all go to the same dulcimer festivals and they all learned the same songs from the same books because it's a small world."

My dulcimer group is 2000+ miles from my home and I only get to visit and jam with them a couple times a year, so I can relate, Lisa!  Most of the time I am going to jams at festivals/events/workshops, etc., where I know few people...and the attendees come from a wide range of states and even other countries.    It helps everyone if the jam is defined or described in some way, for example,

• "We won't be passing out tab, but if you want to bring yours, that's fine."
• "We'll be using 'Jan's Jammin' Book', but bring any tab that will help you."
• "This will be a fast jam featuring fiddle tunes, reels and jigs"
• "Our Snail Jam will be specifically for beginners.  We will teach several common jam tunes and tab will be passed out."
• "All tunes will be played in the key of D unless specified otherwise."
• "Expect the tune to be repeated until you see a foot raised or the leader gives a whoop, indicating the end."
• "We'll play all tunes AABB unless we announce an exception"

Since the jams I've been to always have the attendees taking turns choosing songs to play, if someone suggests a song nobody knows, they have the option of playing a solo for the group or choosing another song.  If several people know the tune, they will play it through several times and others will join in as they feel able, with chords, single notes, percussion, etc.

Some events publish jam tune titles in advance....Dulcimerville used to do that, and many found that helpful.  If nothing else, you can write suggestions on a board, make posters, or write titles on a cheap vinyl window shade with a permanent marker to help people remember tunes that they really do know.  The tune list may even lead to some requests! (Would somebody puh-leeze play 'Sally Slapped Me With a Flounder???!!!')

Here's my list'

Rosin the Beau/Bow  

Boatmen

Going to Boston        

Edelweiss 

Rock the Cradle Joe   

Sugar Hill

Old Yeller Dog            

Red Wing

Old Joe Clark            

Hard Times

Soldiers’ Joy           

I’ll Fly Away        

Ashokan Farewell  

Rattlin’ Bog 

Wildwood Flower      

Ash Grove

Columbus Stockade Blues

My Old Kentucky Home

Whiskey Before Breakfast

Sweet Hour of Prayer      

Will the Circle be Unbroken?

This Land is Your Land

Angeline the Baker 

She’ll be comin’ round the Mtn

Goober Peas         

Greensleeves

Scarborough Fair     

Southwind

The Water is Wide   

Rocky Top

Wabash Cannonball         

River

City of New Orleans    

Liza Jane

Reuben’s Train      

Ground Hog

Amazing Grace      

Simple Gifts       

Golden Slippers  

John Stinson2

Cripple Creek          

Angel Band 

O Susannah    

Short’nin’ Bread

Skip to My Lou     

Sloop John B

Spotted Pony           

June Apple

White Coral Bells  

Mes Parents

Go Tell Aunt Rhody          

Cindy

Boil ‘em Cabbage Down

Be Thou My Vision   

Scotland the Brave 

You Are My Sunshine

Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night

Leaning on…Everlasting Arms

Blowin’ in the Wind

Puff the Magic Dragon

Dona Nobis Pacem

Oh, How Lovely is the Evening

Star of the County Down

Shove That Pig’s Foot a Little Further in the Fire

Glendy Burke

Pretty Saro

Hope this helps!

If you're the organizer you should have a backup folder with tab for a half dozen simple songs like Lion Sleeps Tonight, Frere Jacques, KumBaYa, the detested Boil Those Brassicas Down, etc.  Or you're prepared to teach those tunes to people so they can play along without tab. 

Jan, those are really good points.  A jam can be anything you want it to be :-)

A lot of times when there's an informal jam, and nothing is pre-rehearsed, and it seems to a beginner like these people are performing magic -- what you actually have is a group of players who know each other and have played these songs before.  Or they're playing within a genre that has a core set of tunes that everybody knows.  Or they're improvising within a narrow set of boundaries, like with 12-bar blues.  Or... they all go to the same dulcimer festivals and they all learned the same songs from the same books because it's a small world.   

What do you do when you get a room full of players and nobody knows the same tunes? 

My last refuge in a room of singers and chord players is The Lion Sleeps Tonight, since it's 3 chords in a steady repeating pattern and people only need to remember one word from the lyrics (and wimoweh isn't even a word anyway).  I don't have a good fallback for melody/drone dulcimer, unless it's Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.  I keep running into people who don't know Go Tell Aunt Rhody, for crying out loud. 

What are your fallback tunes to get a jam rolling?

And Kimberley, good luck on Saturday and tell us all how it went!

As demonstrated by the responses, a "jam" has many different meanings.  For me, it's a time to gather informally with other musicians to play music with no pre-rehearsed arrangement, taking turns suggesting and leading tunes, and feeling free to add harmonies or to use percussion or vocals or whatever else contributes positively to the experience.  I would expect some to be slow and some fast and some easy and some difficult.  I would expect that some tunes played would be ones I've never heard before, but I would still find ways to participate.  I think flexibility is key.

Other people like to gather and play tunes from a particular book or folder of music.  While I wouldn't call that a "jam", others do and that's OK--it's a fun activity and can be very helpful in learning and practicing tunes with a group.

Jams can be times when new tunes are shared and taught to a group on the spur of the moment, if the desire to learn it is there.  Sometimes, when only one person knows a particular tune, others listen in appreciation to the impromptu solo performance.

However you define a "jam", it's all about sharing music and having fun!

If you suspect it'll be that small, then I would pick half a dozen songs, find tab, and make 10-12 copies of them.  That way you have a base to start from and whoever comes can also pick tunes and help people through them...

I suspect that our meeting that is coming up this Saturday will be very small.  I will be very happy if we have 5 people show up, but I want to make sure that it is a good experience so that people will return for future meetings.  

There are jams, and then there are jams.  If you have just a handful of people -- say less than a dozen -- just go around the circle and get each person to lead a tune, in turn.  Ask everyone to bring a tune to lead, and 10 or a dozen photocopies of the public domain tab.  Jam groups like this tend to collect a lot of tab.

For bigger groups, the others are right that The Leader (a.k.a. you) should provide a tune list for each get together, and for the next get together so folks can go home and practice after finding tab for the tune.

@Strumelia, I am a fan of yours also!  :)

Thanks to everyone for more great advice!!   I will report back after we have our meeting this coming Saturday and let you know how it went!   

This is probably heresy but I play a drum in our group. It allows the new/not as fast/proficient players to set the speed, helps all players to get used to playing, adjusting to a metronome, helps tremendously in learning those songs with out of the ordinary, difficult, timing and every one usually starts/finishes at the same time.

A bass or guitar could do the same thing.

The dulcimer jams I've attended mostly played fiddle tunes, which do tend to accelerate faster and faster until there's only one player left standing.  Maybe the solution is to mix in some ballads -- how fast can they play Barbr'y Allen?  Do we really want to find out?  Well OK, yes, I would love to watch a competitive high-speed Barbr'y Allen, but only once. 

I wish I knew more dulcimer groups that encouraged people to sing along.  Lots of people find it hard to play and sing at the same time, but in a group they could just sing, just play, do both at once, or take turns, whatever is comfortable for them.  When a tune is too hard for beginners to play, they could sing.  Or strum chords.  Or strum drones.  Or tap rhythm.  I think it's more fun when people don't feel like they all have to play every note, in every song, exactly the same way everyone else does.

Eureka!  I just had my genius idea for the day: Everybody gets a kazoo!  If that doesn't loosen them up, I don't know what will.

With the holidays coming, this is a great time to play songs that everybody knows.  Chances are, you'll not only have singers, you'll get harmonies.  Surely they won't accelerate to breakneck speed on Oh Come, All Ye Faithful.  Will they?  Maybe the kazoos were a mistake...

Kimberly, I would second the idea of announcing ahead of time some of the tunes you are going to play. Some groups choose a song book together that everyone buys. In my group I post a list of our songs with tab on our website so people can practice before coming to the group.

In general you will want to play much slower than feels right, assuming you have lots of beginners.  It is standard in Irish sessions to play each song three times, but when people are trying to learn, that may not be enough.  When teaching songs, you may have to play more than that.

And although it isn't common enough in dulcimer circles, I spend some time demonstrating and discussing how to join the jam even when you don't know the song.  It was not written in stone on Mount Sinai that everyone has to play the melody all the time.  Teaching people how to add rhythmic or other types of accompaniment when they don't know the song will help everyone feel included.  Most people in my group play across all the strings, so I teach them how to isolate the chord changes and just play those as backup until they learn the entire melody. That also allows us to play some songs up-to-speed some of the time and still include everyone.

Strumelia, thanks for posting on this.  I am forming a new uke group, and hopefully dulcimer, and the advice you have offered is very valuable.  Answers a ton of questions.  I almost feel like I have highjacked the thread, since this was for Kimberly. 

Thanks for posting Kimberly.  Great question.  For me personally, you couldn't have timed it any better.

And Rob, I appreciate what you had to say too.  Good stuff. 

First of all....Kimberly i'm so pleased to see you posting!-  I'm a big fan of yours.  

Rob has given some great tips already.

My 2 cents-   If you are 'leading' the jam you may have a certain short set list in mind that perhaps you have let the group members know about in advance.  Still, it's good to also allow folks to go around the circle at least once and be able to choose a favorite tune for everyone to play.  Two hours should certainly allow for all this.  

The important thing about that is that it can allow a relative beginner to start a tune they know, at a tempo that is do-able for them.  I feel that when someone at a beginner level chooses a tune, they should be allowed to have it NOT speed up.  I remember how bad i felt long ago at my very first club setting when I was a beginner player -- every single tune would eventually speed up so that I had to drop out.  I certainly understood this and everyone knew I was a rank beginner, but I looked forward to being able to start my one tune at my pace when it was my turn.  It was finally my turn to pick a tune.  I began the tune very slowly, as that was the best I could do.  Several more advanced players very quickly sped it up and half way through the first time through it, I couldn't keep up with my own beginner tune, and had to drop out.  That felt really bad.
As the group leader, you can prevent this from happening.   You could handle it by starting the jam with a welcome to the new beginners, and by assuring them that if they start their own tune slowly, everyone will follow and respect THEIR tempo and not speed it up.  Indeed, if others speed it up anyway, you can after the tune ends then say "OK let's play that tune one more time through but SLOWLY this time so we can all play together".

This is also the reasoning behind having some time set aside for a slooow beginner session or a beginner teaching help session.  No one should go home from a jam without being able to play through even one tune to the end.  A separate beginner help time would accomplish much the same goal, HOWEVER I still think it's important for seasoned members to be able to adapt to different tempos set by whoever starts a tune, and learn to not run roughshod over others simply because they themselves 'can' play everything fast. Playing well in a group is a SKILL that requires the ability to adapt to others in order for the group as a whole to succeed and sound good, after all.      Tunes can be at varied tempos...some can be expressive and slow while others can be fast and lively.  Then everyone can have a good time!

Two hours can get eaten up pretty quickly by pre-socializing, late arrivals, announcements, tuning issues and broken strings, book/stand/chair shuffling, and misc talk.  If you add a half hour of slow/beginner help, I think it should not be a part of that 2 hours, but rather come first and be in a different spot to the side if possible, to discourage seasoned players from joining in or disrupting it.

Pick tunes that most people know to start, even if they have to use the tab.  Keep a steady rhythm.  Don't go too fast, at least the 1st couple of time through.  Sometimes up here in the club jams they play a song through twice at a slower tempo for the beginners then play it up to speed the last 2 times.  Encourage the more advanced players to play a harmony part or chords if they can.  Let everyone have a turn picking out a tune to play.  For me, 4 times through each is enough, although if it's short or you're trying to learn it more times would be fine.  Lastly, just because everyone doesn't "know" the tune that doesn't mean you shouldn't try it.  If 4 or 5 folks do know then the others can watch the hands of those that do and try to pick it up.

Hope this helps

I suspect that this information may already be on this site somewhere and I am not as familiar as I should be with how to do an effective search.  So, please, if it is available, just point me in the right direction!

I got so much great advice on starting a dulcimer group that I wanted to ask you all another question.  Even though I have been playing the dulcimer for over 30 years, I have very seldom played with others.  Now that I am starting this group, I need some tips on how to lead jams.  ANY information on leading a fun and effective jam would be greatly appreciated!!

(The few times that i have played with more than one other dulcimer, I have a horrible time hearing the sound coming from my dulcimer because it seems that I can hear everyone but my dulcimer.  That usually makes me quit playing because I can't tell what I am playing.)