10 Commandments of Bluegrass Etiquette

I'm starting to see a few elec. bass guitars show up with small or battery powered amps. It makes sense because they are much easier to tote around and less expensive not to mention they still sound good.

I pretty much only finger style on my acoustic and in groups of more than four people, have been told they can not hear my playing. Most jams I go to involve 10 - 12 people.

Recently I bought one of those battery powered amps that can sit under my chair. I use a 6 ft cord to plug it into the guitar and all seems well. I've had no issues, no complaints and always tell the folks to let me know if I need to turn it down. I follow all the other rules of etiquette as prescribed above, but wondering if it would be permissible to show up at other jams with this amp.

While the two jams I run are acoustic, somebody with a gently electrified instrument is welcome. Rarely does somebody bring an amp, and the few times they have the sound has blended well. Electric bass and keyboard are both appropriate for my jams.

If somebody came in for their first time with a solid body electric guitar rather than an acoustic I would encourage them to show up with an acoustic on the next visit.

I suspect the range of tolerance is pretty wide and is not something to assume with a group where you are new.

I suspect that most folks are understanding of those who are understanding. BUT if it's a professed hard-core bluegrass fast jam, I'd be wary of the BG Police looking to make an arrest, or at least a public humiliation. Yeah, I'd leave the Roland Micro-Cube in the car.

Some have noted elsewhere that such exclusiveness mostly happens in city areas, where the "nouveau BG hard-core" might try just a bit too hard, and I’ve seen tinges of it here in the suburbs of NYC. I’m told that at a real back-country jam, they're more likely to take you at face value.

Depends on the jam. I suggest you call the host and ask.

If you were to call me, I'd say that our group sticks to Bluegrass standards or other songs that can be EASILY played and sung in Bluegrass style. Why? So that everyone can participate, whether or not they know the tune, and have it come out sounding decent.

We also enjoy the tones produced by unamplified instruments, and we often like to play outdoors; therefore, amps are discouraged.

Fingerstyle guitar is beautiful in the proper setting (usually as a solo instrument, often accompanying a singer), but it doesn't fit that well with Bluegrass-style music.

I guess that makes me part of the "Bluegrass Police." But I'm not enforcing any particular set of rules; I'm simply pointing out that your style of music doesn't blend well with a particular, established jam. You'd be better off starting your own jam with people that are more like you than we are.

Thanks for your honesty jwing. Even though I wasn't talking specifically about bluegrass, didn't even mention it, I've sort of felt the same way about my style of pick'n, then I decided if I couldn't adapt it to other styles I wasn't half the musician I thought I was. Case in point: I sat in with a mariachi band once. (some things just do not work well) In your kind of musical environment I rarely take a break unless I reach for my flatpick. However enjoy doing fingerstyle background embellishments without overshadowing the one who's doing the break.. if it fits; been complimented on it many times. If I don't feel comfortable with it.. I just do some rhythm.

Back to the subject matter..the amp. If you think about it, it's only purpose is to assist being heard.. kind of like using a PA system at your jam session and someone stepping up to a mic to take a break. I'm not talking about changing the face of a jam session by adding a bunch of effects.. just simple amplification so what needs to be heard can be. To many times in an open jam there is one or two guys that beat their guitars and just can't grasp the concept of how to back off.

I have no problem with people who are amped joining in. I'm a bassist, so I'm usually the quiet one in the background, but I feel like when it's one acoustic bass (me) and one electric bass, sometimes things can get awkward (maybe I have a bass ego. I think all bassists do at some point or another). It usually works, but when the electric is playing it in a non-standard way, we really can clash, and I play my bass in pretty much the most basic, straight-forward traditional way you can (with a few simple walks here and there for fun). As long as the amped musician remembers the roots of grassing, it's allll good.