Carroll Jams

Acoustic music jam: mostly folk, rock, blues, and traditional.
You must RSVP to attend! Click on "Read more" below!

We post our songs at  bit.ly/cjsongs
Please note: all provided lyrics and chords are for educational use only.

You can jam with us on the second Sunday of every month OR on the following Saturday at The Jam Room in the home of Laurie and Thomas Precht in Westminster, Maryland.

If you RSVP, we will send you an email with our address on the day before the event. Check that your email settings allow messages from MeetUp.

The RSVP period opens four weeks before the event date and closes at noon on the day of the event. RSVP on our Carroll Jams Meetup events page. If the app does not accept your RSVP it means EITHER that the RSVP period has not yet opened OR the jam session is filled.

If the jam session is filled, you can get on the waiting list. If a space opens up, the person at the top of the waiting list will automatically be moved to "Attending" and will receive a notification.

Bring a tablet and a music stand. We have some to lend.
Bring a capo if you are playing a stringed instrument.
You do not need to bring an instrument stand. We have them already.

Food is not available. Please eat lunch before you arrive.
Bottled water is available or you can bring your own beverage.

No pets. We have a small dog who will visit us if it is OK with everyone.

These events are now FREE!

Some instruments and equipment are available to borrow during the session:

• Snare drum with throne and brushes
• Yamaha electronic keyboard (five octaves)
• Vocal microphones
• Two amplifiers (not bass amplifiers)
• Music stands
• A few tablets
• Instrument stands

Please pick two or three songs from our online songbook at bit.ly/cjsongs
You do not need a Dropbox account in order to view the song files.
Questions about viewing Dropbox files? Click here.

You can either lead the song or ask someone else to lead it.

If you want to play a song that is not in our songbook, bring a dozen printed copies so that we can play along with you. A lot of our musicians do not read music, but we can follow a song sheet with chords.

Successful jam songs...

• match the skill levels of the group which is beginner through beginning intermediate
• are easy to follow on the sheet
• are familiar or that other players can pick up on easily
• use common chords (A, Am, A7, C, C7, D, Dm, D7, E, Em, E7, F, G, G7)
• use between three and five chords
• have a slow to moderate tempo
• don't have complicated solos, difficult riffs, or key changes
• are songs that you are able to lead and sing; don't assume that anyone else knows the song

If you've never been to a jam, here's what happens: a bunch of musicians show up and play. You'll see that some of the musicians already know one another and that others are new to the group. That doesn't matter much because in a jam everybody is considered a friend. We follow "jam etiquette" to make sure that everything runs smooth as silk. Our jam isn't a practice session or an open mike, and we're not looking to perform anywhere.

Our goal is to have fun playing and singing together.

We welcome acoustic guitars, ukuleles, mandolins, banjos, fiddles, violas, cellos and stand-up basses, recorders, concert flutes, penny whistles, harmonicas, accordions or concertinas, woodwinds (clarinets, saxophones, melodicas), hammered dulcimers (lap dulcimers if you can accompany a guitar). The only electric instruments that we can accommodate are electric basses and electric keyboards. Drummers who can play quietly with brushes or hands are welcome. Handheld percussion instruments such as rasps, shakers, and bones are welcome, too. If you play an instrument that's not on this list, send me a message so that I can decide if it will fit with the vibe. I'm pretty flexible about this.

We are beginner-friendly although participants will be expected to be familiar with the basics of their instruments (for example, string players should be able to easily manage the following chords: A, Am, A7, Am7, B, Bb, Bm, Bm7, C, C7, D, Dm, D7, E, Em, E7, F, G, Gm, and G7 or should be able to pick out the melody by ear).

No pets. No drugs. No vaping or smoking on the premises. No intoxication. No weapons. Just plain fun.

JAM ETIQUETTE:
-Listen while you play. Good listeners make better players.
-Buy an electronic clip-on tuner. Tune up before you come inside the circle.
-Your volume should match the group's volume.
-Likewise, your tempo should match the group's tempo.
-I'll ask folk before we start the jam if they'd like to solo. It's OK to pass.
-If the song leader calls you out to solo, give the song leader a "heads up" when you're done soloing.
-When someone is soloing, it's mighty polite to drop your volume a little so that you can hear the solo. Also, it's understood that when someone is soloing, all the other players lend support by playing a simpler line.
-The jam's organizer will pick out and lead the first song. After that, we'll go around the circle to pick songs. (Note: If you've picked a song from the online songbook, but you don't want to lead it, that's OK. The jam organizer will lead it.)
-We like it when everybody sings along!
-To keep up the energy, we respectfully ask that players don't "noodle around" between songs.
-The circle is for playing. If you're conversing while others are playing, kindly find a cozy place outside of the circle and out of earshot where you can continue your conversation.
-Although we are beginner friendly, the purpose of the jam is to play... not to practice. If you are still a beginning beginner, make sure that you can easily shift between the chords listed above.
Questions? Contact Laurie Precht, organizer, at [email protected]