Also,going to jams is a great way to get better at jamming.

This looks like a straight up AI copy of Strum Machine. It does not have any information on who's making this product, no contact form, nothing... just a page that compares itself specifically with Strum Machine. It feels off... I'd rather pay a small subscription fee for a product actually made by a human than a vibe coded knock off made by who knows who. Strum Machine is made by Luke Abbott. Down with AI.

Background instruments? Spoons?

In Bluegraas there are no 'background instruments' 

When 'training' for a jam, the first thing to learn would be backing up various singers or instruments (which would be different depending on who's singing or playing lead) 

After some early experiments, in Bluegrass there is no percussion left nowadays.

Spoons are great for eating...

Jams are so "in the moment" and finding out what fits and what doesn't.
Jams are one of the best ways to strengthen your ear playing.
One of the best compliments I heard growing up in a musical family was "He's got a quick ear."

This has to do with hearing a new tune played through once and then having something "meaningful" to play.

quote:

---

Originally posted by steve davis

Jams are so "in the moment" and finding out what fits and what doesn't.
Jams are one of the best ways to strengthen your ear playing.
One of the best compliments I heard growing up in a musical family was "He's got a quick ear."

This has to do with hearing a new tune played through once and then having something "meaningful" to play.

---

I agree very much with everything Steve says. I also realize that some people don't  have the opportunities some of the rest of us have to jam regularly. I get together with friends on Sunday afternoons to play country/bluegrass, with a little Bob Dylan, Greatful Dead, Neil Young, and Glen Campbell  thrown in for good measure. But on Wednesday evenings, while my wife is at choir practice and I'm sitting around home alone, I pull up some Austin City Limits or MTV Unplugged and play along. Or anything I can find like that. PBS airs a lot of them. You can learn a lot jumping in like that, not knowing the key they are playing in or where they are going with it. It has really helped me to recognize keys, progressions, and pick up melodies just by ear. Also if I can get a glimpse of the guitar player's hands, that helps a lot. Anyway, I find that much more enjoyable than playing to a canned backing track, which I have done as well.

Yes. I agree jams are the best way to learn but a fellow member on Banjo Ben Clarks site developed this new app and asked to spread the word regarding it. Yes it is similar to strum machine but right now its free . IN my book free is better than cheap

Along with jams, bluegrass recordings are best to playalong with.
The recordings of your favorite artists and songs become the metronome for you. Plus youtube has a speed control so you can slow it down without changing the key. I use it all the time.

The big difference between playing with recorded music and playing live with everybody else is how playing live makes you adjust what you are playing because of variations or mistakes.

Just now CBC radio MB is having a segment on methods of teaching/learning mathematics.  It's not earth-shattering, and it might not be* directly transferable to music, but it struck a chord with me: "Explicit instruction is the best way to teach novice learners."

* or it might be. 

You are right steve. Depending on the level of talent in the jam, it can be a troubleshooters game.
How many times have you jammed to clinch mountain backstep with people dont do the "backstep"?
Or people who come in singing before the tag is finished? Playing with recordings is like being in boot camp. You learning everything the right way. Jamming is the battlefield where anything can happen

There may not be any drums in Bluegrass but when I record I start with a drum track for the bass to lock into. Then at master, I pull the drums down. If you're not Opry grade, I'd practice with a drum track or nome. Hey, do it for the rest of us!