Introduction
At first glance, it may not seem like Salt Lake City, and the Wasatch front isn’t the goldmine of professional live music. However, there is an underground folk and live music scene in the Salt Lake Area and surrounding cities that I hope to introduce to you and help you get involved with the goings on of the live music happening in the community. Here are the main points I will be addressing in this article. I will be discussing how to Jam with other musicians, music circles to join, Networking best practices, how to connect on social media, how to go about having positive interactions with performers when you go to their shows, and how to attract musicians to you while you’re out and about. Let’s get started with jam sessions and where some good ones are. Please note that the jams mentioned here are the ones I attend and there are several others I may not know about. Now that this disclaimer is out of the way, let’s begin.
Jam with other Musicians
Music Circles to Join
My favorite way to get involved is by jamming with other musicians. There are a few places in Utah where one can go to jam with other musicians. I enjoy going to the jams sponsored by the Trash Moon Collective. They sponsor and create opportunities for the folk music scene. For the last few years, they have been holding a jam at the woodbine food hall Wednesday evenings from 6 pm to 9 pm. This is where one can meet a large assortment of professional and amateur musicians and play music together. Many of the friendships formed at this session have led to the formation of epic string bands that have been very successful in Utah, the United States and even around the world. The Trash moon collective sponsors bluegrass and old-time jams, but there are other genres of folk music people participate in around Utah. The Wasatch Front is also home to a large assortment of Celtic music players. Many of these put together their own sessions, but they can usually be found on social media. Facebook would be the platform of choice, but there are others one can find on Instagram. If you can’t find the Irish sessions on social media, you could always attend the Evanston Celtic Festival. Many Celtic players travel to Evanston Wy for the Celtic Festival that is held every March the weekend of St Patrick’s day. On the evening of the first day, there is a grand jam session and everyone from all the areas around jam together. The people I sat by during a session at the festival later invited me to join their band, and I also had the opportunity to jam with several other musicians at that event. If you’ve never been to a jam before, here are some tips to help you have a good experience.
Jamming Tips and Tricks: Let the jam leader lead the jam.
Sometimes there is a jam leader who picks the tunes. Don’t try to run the session. Let the leader lead. Make friends with the people next to you. Find specific things about their playing that you like and complement them on it. If you want to collaborate with another artist, have reasons for doing so. It could be the way they crescendo on the crescendo, the way that they improvise, or the chord they used at the perfect time that made you want to play more beautifully. Whatever it is, specific complements go farther than “you’re a great musician.”
Listen before you play.
In folk music sessions, most songs have an A/B pattern. This means that there will be two parts to a song that usually repeats. When someone starts a tune, listen to this pattern in the music. While you’re doing that, listen for the chords being used and figure out the pattern. In bluegrass, there’s usually some improvisation going on. Some of the players go way out and lose the tune. However, if you know where you are in the chord progression and if you’re on the A part or the B part, you won’t get lost. One thing that helps is sitting next to a guitar player. During the first time through the tune, watch his hands and that can help you know where the chord changes are. Now that you have some insight to the jam scene, lets get into the other areas of music networking.
Networking Best Practices
Be nice.
People like working with nice people. Nobody likes complainers, but everyone likes someone who sees the good in others and can see the silver lining through the clouds. Every time I’ve been in a situation performing or jamming, I’ve always preferred the people who choose patience and humor rather than those who choose to complain and bad-mouth.
Be specific.
Like I said before, If you have a complement for another musician, tell them why you liked their playing. If you are looking for people to help you out with a gig, know the when, where, how long it will be, and what music you’ll be playing. If you’re hosting a jam that you want to invite other musicians to, share the specific details. If you want to join a band, make sure your portfolio is prepared so the band leader or manager can assess whether you’ll be a good fit.
Be Organized
Now that you know where to look for bands and musicians to collaborate with, and you have some networking wins, be organized. I have files where I keep the music from each gig I play and each band I perform with. I do this so when I get a call to fill in for someone I’ve already played with, I can refresh myself on their repertoire. There may be a few new songs for me to learn, but most of the time, they’ll keep their hit songs in rotation. Another way I stay organized is by keeping my calendar up to date. This helps me to know whether I can perform on certain days and do the travel necessary to make those gigs happen.
Social Media
Reach Out
Using social media can be a good way to find musicians to collaborate with. Some of the best platforms for this are Instagram and TikTok. These two platforms are where many musicians spend their time-sharing content because more people will engage with the content on those apps. When you’ve found a musician, you want to collaborate with, send them the video where you discovered them or a video of them performing that you like, and invite them to collaborate with you. Make sure you are specific to your complements and things you like about what they do.
Win-Win Collaboration
When you invite them to work with you on a project, be very clear about what you’re asking them to do. It also helps if you offer to pay them for their time. Make sure to include how working with you would benefit them. Everyone likes a win-win situation. After initially reaching out, wait a few days before following up. The best people to work with are usually busy people themselves. If they don’t get back to you within a few days, reach out again. Sometimes people see a message and don’t have time to immediately respond. Following up a couple of times is almost always worth the effort. After reaching out a few times and you get nothing, move on and look for someone else. There will be other musicians out there who would love to help you with a project.
Concerts and Events
Whether you’re at a stadium, a house concert, a jam, or a farmer’s market, and you meet musicians who are busking, these are great places to meet fellow musicians.
Do your research ahead of time
Know who’s going to be performing and familiarize yourself with their music before attending. This will help you enjoy their music more when you hear it performed live.
Be invested in the performers.
If they are giving a workshop or if they sell merchandise like CDs, sheet music, clothes, mugs, hats, etc., spend a little money on them. This shows that you trust them. If you say you’ll pay them to help you, they know you will because you already have. It shows that you aren’t there just for free stuff.
Become their fan
Do all of this before you invite them to collaborate with you or ask them to be a part of what they’re doing. This will set the mood for how they consider whether to work with you or not. Every time I’ve tried inviting other artists to collaborate with me, and I haven’t invested in them first, it goes nowhere. Every time I invested in the artists ahead of time before asking for their help, I was received better. One of those artists I invested in was Andy Reiner, a fiddle player and songwriter from Colorado. He continues to be a friend and mentor to me.
Attracting other Artists
Carry an Instrument.
This has helped me attract musicians many times, whether I’m at a conference, going out to eat, or traveling. The best way to find other musicians is to look for people carrying their instrument with them or carry your instrument with you, If possible. If you are a pianist or a tuba player or play an instrument that’s too big to carry around, and you still want to attract other musicians to you, wear some music themed clothes. I used to take my mandolin to school with me and practice in the commons during lunch. Other musicians saw me and we would play together. I’ve taken an instrument with me out to eat after teaching and other guests and workers who were also musicians, came up to me and started conversations. Sometimes you’ll meet people who know prominent musicians and these are good people to meet as well, because they can put you in contact with their musician friends. There have been many connections formed this way, and they have led to some great music opportunities.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are several effective ways to meet other musicians and work together on projects whether that is making recordings, forming bands, performing, or just jamming. Whether you meet fellow musicians through performances, jam sessions, in the wild, or online, remember to be nice, specific, invest, and follow up. Thank you for reading!
