Practice This! is an educational project of Earshot Jazz with sponsorship from The Seattle Drum School. Each month in Earshot Jazz a new lesson by a different local jazz artist will appear for students to learn from and for non-musician readers to gain insight into the craft of improvising.

Jam sessions have been an important part of learning how to play jazz music since before we even called it “jazz.” Jam sessions not only give you an environment where you can test out all of the ideas, songs, and concepts you have been practicing at home, but they provide an open, social context in which to experiment and meet other musicians.

Often, students only have one means of trying out their newfound skills before an actual performance, and that is with a play-along recording. That play-along will never drag or speed up, play out of tune, or make any mistakes. Yet, when you play with real people, even the best players make mistakes, and learning to deal with mistakes – either your own or those of others – in the real-time world of playing is a lesson one can’t learn any other way than by doing. David Liebman once said: “If you aren’t making mistakes, you aren’t trying hard enough.”

The most common mistake made at jam sessions is not being involved making decisions. What tune are we going to play? Do you want to trade? What key would you like to play in? Should we do a blues? These are all typical questions heard at a jam session, and the biggest mistake you can make is to simply say “whatever” or “I don’t care.” Instead, be specific about the tune and key you want to play. If you can’t come to an agreement, and they decided on something you don’t know, sit down, write down the name of the tune, and go home and learn it for the next time. More often than not, problems in a jam session come from lack of communication among the players. Taking an active part in the process will help guarantee that you, at least, are comfortable and free to experiment.

How can one prepare for jam sessions? First, learn tunes – the more you know, the more comfortable you will be at a session. Remember: jam sessions are where we all communicate on common ground, so the tunes you learn can’t be too esoteric. A visit to the jam sessions you’d like to attend will help tell you what people in your area like to play. And make sure to really learn the song – you can’t rely on someone having a fake book or sheet music, so be sure to memorize the melody and changes (sometimes being able to name one tricky change for someone will make or break that tune getting called). Also, be sure to practice the tunes you like in a variety of styles and tempos; sometimes, jam sessions can be unpredictable, and you want to stay in your comfort zone as much as possible

Marc Fendel, award-winning saxophonist and composer, has been leading jam sessions in clubs since 1994. A founding member of Bebop and Destruction, he continues to experiment with his group Swampdweller while managing the Seattle Drum School Georgetown branch.