Additional Notes

• If there are any tricky chords thrown in the song, like a 2 or a 7 chord, you can give additional instruction on the chord progression. I highly recommend when learning to jam that you pick a simple, well-known song that’s easy to play for all. It’s tricky enough getting through the song without complicating things.
• When starting out, stay away from any songs that are “crooked” rhythms or even have different tunes for the chorus and verse. That can be confusing and make it harder on a novice song leader.
• The standard format to lead a song is to sing a verse and a chorus, and then pause for “breaks”, or solos, by instrumentalists. Look at the first person to your left that you know takes breaks, then keep going left from there to the next person. Depending on the number of people, do two or three, then, sing another verse and another chorus and keep going around. If there are still more people after the last verse and chorus has been sung, you can keep going with the breaks until they’re done, then sing the chorus one more time. 
• If your song’s verse and chorus have different tunes, let the group know which of the two they’ll be taking a break on. You can also alternate between the verse (A part) and chorus (B part) as you dole out the breaks, but be sure to let them know which part they should play, A or B.
• Check with the jam leader if you are nervous about doling out the breaks; they can do it for you. If it’s a smaller jam, everyone who wants to can take a break. However, if the group is large, this may take too much time. Again, check with the jam leader to know what their typical protocol is.
• Important note! It is not bluegrass law to have to give every single person a break on every single song! Do what’s best for your song. Over the course of an entire jam, everyone will get a turn. I’ve been in some jams where it takes 10 minutes to get through a song because there are so many people. One option is to “split” breaks, so that one person plays two lines of the melody and the next person plays the last two.
• Be sure to make eye contact with the song leader to indicate if you want to take an instrumental break or not during their song. A simple nod or shake of the head helps them know whether to call on you as they go around the circle.
  The bass player may or may not be called upon to take breaks, usually depending on the speed of the song. If you’re not sure, you can ask the bass player if they want a break. Many times, song leaders wait until the end to give the bass player their break. This isn’t set in stone, though, so do what’s easiest for you.
• Usually when the bass player is taking a break, the rest of the musicians stop strumming except on the first beat of the measure.
• When someone is leading a song, jam etiquette dictates that they sing the verse alone, and that others can join in singing on the chorus in harmony. The main purpose of this is to allow the song leader’s voice to be the dominant one while others create the space of support. Also, they may choose to sing different words than you are familiar with or have a different melody line. Of course there may be instances when the song leader invites others to sing with them or wants harmony on the verses as well, so check in with them before the song starts. “Fast jam” folks are more picky about not sharing harmony lines with other singers, but at slower jams you can feel free to sing what sounds good to you.
• Obviously, songs played at bluegrass jams should be, well, bluegrass! However, many blues, country, and folk songs are acceptable, depending on how purist the group is. There’s also sometimes a distinction between “new grass” and “trad” (traditional) and preferences might be stated by the jam leader. Don’t stress over this… jams that are slow or medium in speed will be less discerning.

Most importantly, have a good time! If you have any questions or aren’t sure what to do, ask the jam leader. They are always ready to help!