© Staf Smets
Do you want to guide musical (or less musical) groups toward a safe, accessible, creative jam session, with plenty of room for spontaneity?
In jam sessions, facilitating and teaching sometimes go hand in hand, but sometimes they’re at odds with each other. During this two-day workshop, we examine this fascinating interplay together!
We explore how structure can shape the session. We discuss the fundamental musical building blocks (rhythm, harmony, melody). We zoom in on the conditions for a successful jam: an attentive ear, ensemble playing and interaction.
You get familiar with specific techniques such as call-and-response, establishing a steady groove, and subtly guiding or allowing dynamics and group energy to flow. Before long, you’ll be able to lead a group in a free jam that still has direction and cohesion, and where every musician and singer finds their place.
Do you like to work entirely through improvisation, or do you prefer to start with songs? We explore different formats: open jams, guided improvisations, and short game formats that lower barriers and increase participation. You’ll learn how to “read” a group, choose when to intervene, and stimulate participant ownership.
You’ll gain concrete tools for structuring (from chaos to form), nonverbal communication, maintaining flow, and wrapping up a jam. This will enable you to independently lead sessions that are based on musical flow, trust, and the joy of playing.
Don't let your level of musical experience hold you back ! Reindert and Yannick, educational staff members and jam facilitators at WISPER, will prove that you don't have to be a musician to successfully host a jam or music flow.
Check www.opek.be for more information about how to get here. At the first session, you will be welcomed by someone from WISPER who will tell you exactly where in/around the building your course takes place.
Good to know if you take a full-day course here: for the lunch break, you can bring your own lunch, eat in at Café Entrepot or buy something at the Lidl supermarket around the corner.
