Participated in a Blue Grass/Old-time music jam!

good for you!

Ain't no stopping you now. Have fun.

Too funny. This is true of any situation in life.

Great, Good for you ! A whole new world is out there waiting for you. Enjoy all of it. You are going to learn and grow so much by joining in.
Have fun.

Joe

Full disclosure: I participated in the "slow jam" group. The guy leading the group was patient and helpful with everyone. It was a gret experience.

Happy to hear you enjoyed it so much Nao. Getting a chance to play with other folks can be a great experience.

Over the years I've had good and bad experiences when playing in "jams" and "circles".  Several times during jams, there have been a few pickers that want to dominate or show off their talents and it soon became a competition with each player getting louder until it was just a cacophony of sound, or as others have said, occasionally there has been a "perfectionist" that thinks the only way to play a song is the way the artist recorded it, even though the original artist may play it many different ways when playing live in concerts. This seems to  occur in bluegrass jams more than any other.

My preference has been the songwriter's circles I've played in. Sitting in a circle means all participants are equal regardless of talent or past experience. Everyone is given a chance to play in turn and all the others respectfully listen.  A modification of this are circles in which the participants play originals or covers with the others joining in if they know the song.  Again, everyone is given a chance in turn to play a song of their choosing.  For someone to "jump" the circle and play out of turn or try to play a couple songs in a row is the equivalent of them saying that what they're playing or doing is more important than the other pickers.  As Zurf will attest, this is one of my pet "peaves" and after its done by someone a couple times, I usually just put my guitar away and leave. As a friend of mine once said, "even the drunkest guitar pickers around a fire on a creek bank in the middle of no-where realize that there is etiquette involved."

I'm glad that you found a group you enjoy being with Nao.  I've probably learned more about playing while being a jam member than any other method.

DE

I hate those people with big Ego's.  They don't remember when they were starting out. We all have to get and build confidence. I hosted an open mic for 2 1/2 years and anyone who wanted to jam at the end of the night could. It didn't matter what level player you were as long as you wanted to play your were welcome. I had one guy who thought he was King Sh*# . He tried to run over on his allotted time. After the 2nd song over I just shut down the sound system. He got P-O ed with me . I told him the open mic wasn't all about him, It was all the other performers who showed up. He never returned. His loss. Don't let those type of people bother you . There are better folks out there to jam with.

  Joe

I like the royal title you used in your message Tyson.  Thanks for adapting it to a family friendly modification, but I do like the title.  I will be adopting that.  Shoot, I may even get around to writing my third song (oooooo, three whole songs) all about that regal individual.  No wait.  Billy Joel already did that.