Jams; finding the 'right' fit.

[Timbofood]

Hear hear! Words to live by, Tim (I wish I were better at it.)

Me too!
Jamming is just like a well made instrument, when the fit is right and you all finish together, it's wonderful.
It takes a lot of sanding and polishing to get the fit right.

[mtm]

I mined the Cafe for advice about my first "session" about a year ago involving numerous guitar players, one banjo, and the occasional uke , and the tunes are all over the place. I conclude from my experience that the themes in this thread seem universal. Everyone gets talked about at some point, which makes me a bit uncomfortable when it happens (wonder what they say about me?), but by and large the comments are spot on (e.g., he plays the same thing, or she thinks it's open mic night for soloists) but none of it is truly mean-spirited.

The skills of the group range from beginner (me and a couple others) to pretty darn good, so I just sit out those I'm not up to, or do a shaker. I've surprised them a couple of times, which is always nice -- a guitar player did "Going to California" one week, so I learned the mando part (thanks to a Don Julin tutorial) and managed to add some color the next week. By just being respectful and playing within my means, I've become a 'standing' member of the group and hopefully don't put myself in a position to be talked about! I'm still pretty much a beginner, but the session has really been good for my playing, and it's just plain fun. I don't play or sing well, so rarely bring a tune to play, but the group seems fine with that. I've had a couple of people request that I learn their new song to embellish, which is nice.

I think any group of people will have problem children....

[Mandobart]

Wow this is something I've been conflicted about for a while. First let me say I know I'm fortunate to have up to three song circle jams and 6 jams/open mics I could go to each week. I'm doubly lucky in that my favorite group of pickers are friends of mine, very welcoming people. I learned to play mandolin going to the MCTAMA jams in my area. I still love to play with these guys, as well as my local Washington Old Time Fiddlers. I still love playing with these folks, although my schedule doesn't allow me to attend every session.

Regarding the general Bluegrass aficionado's propensity to being dogmatic and pedantic - yes it's often true. I've come to realize, however, that this may be part of why Bluegrass hasn't gone the way of pop Kountry muzak. Myself, I enjoy traditional tunes, old time, folk, Americana, new grass, etc. But I don't try to bend an established jam to my will.

Lots of what has been said above resonates with me, and I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one that has some issues with "lesser players." I'm not one to talk disparagingly about other players, but I have reached a point where I'm just tired of humoring those who play crappy, have been playing crappy for years and have no intention of ever improving. So here is the "rant" I've been writing to myself over the past few months:

I’ve hesitated putting this to paper, because I don’t want to:
1. Sound like a prick
2. Hurt anyone’s feelings
3. Become the guy no one wants to play music with anymore
4. It’s pretty negative

I grew up playing music and am classically trained. Did it for years in orchestra, jazz band and a couple garage bands. Like many I let it go when I “grew up” and started working, joined the USN, went to college, started a family. About 8 years ago I really got back into playing music. I went to a weekly acoustic jam, then picked up another. Did an open mic with a friend and really enjoyed it. Started performing with a couple other friends. And so on. My previous training and new enthusiasm paid off as I learned new instruments and new songs. For a while I was going to an open mic or jam night almost every night of the week. Slowly, things I hadn’t noticed before in the open mics/jams started to bug me.

Open Mic:
1. Endless sound check/tuning
2. Other players not bothering to tune
3. Playing the same songs every time you get up, night after night, week after week.
4. The guys that leave as soon as their turn is up – the person left at with the end-of-the-night slot has no one to play for. Most common and worst offense, to me.
5. People who won’t leave when their turn is up, and a host unwilling to enforce limits.
6. Those who play along from the audience or worse jump up to join another player on stage (without being invited).
7. The guy who always needs to borrow a pick. Or a cord. Or a tuner. Or a battery for his preamp.
8. The serious artist who wants everyone to be quiet so they can be awed by his amazing performance.
9. The absent host – heads to the bar/parking lot, abandoning his/her post. The open mic devolves into Lord of the Flies where the loudest, rudest stage hog gets up and won’t leave. Or the plaintive folkie launches into another 14 verse Bob Dylan cover.

At a jam:
1. Noodlers who won’t pay attention, then as soon as the song starts interrupt everything by sputtering “what’s the song? What key?”
2. The guy always pulling out the jam buster; original tunes with multiple chord changes no one knows, or familiar song in a key most are unfamiliar with and doesn’t bother to run through the tune with everyone else first.
3. Other players not bothering to tune.
4. Players with no steady rhythm, always cutting the last half beat off the end of the bar, insist on retardandos or fermatas in odd places.
5. It’s ok not to know everything. Those that are proud of knowing nothing and don’t want to learn anything (cover their ears when someone is explaining a chord progression using Nashville numbering, relative minors, etc.).
6. Endless lead player; always taking a break, walking over other’s breaks.
7. The “correcter” who swears “you can’t do that song in D, it always is in G” or similar. Or insists “that’s not how it goes, the original artist does it like this…”
8. Silent player who won’t pick loud enough to be heard (yet still wants a break) and the flip side loud player who never backs off to let the person playing the lead or singing be heard.
9. Again, the person who plays the same songs every time it’s their turn, every jam, week after week. Doesn’t want to learn any new tunes.
10. The Teaser. Knows the first few bars/lines of a tune, then abruptly stops as soon as everyone starts playing.
11. Non-finisher – a little different than the teaser. Just not able to play through mistakes, forgotten lyrics, etc., so they just stop, or worse, try to start over.

[Ivan Kelsall]

I remember a time that i'd been playing mandolin for just over 12 months or so. I went to a regular weekly jam session a few miles away from me. The same folks were there that i 'd seen at other sessions in the past. They were still playing the same old stuff in the same old way that they'd been playing for years. I suggested playing ''Southern Comfort'' & the looks i got made me think i'd committed some form of heresy - maybe i had !. I backed down on that one as it seemed i was the only one who knew the tune. I never went back. The guy who ran the session is still a very good friend of mine & an excellent multi-instrumentalist. He began the session hoping that the folk attending might aspire to becoming 'better' musicians. However,i think he soon realised that it was a lost cause,
Ivan

[Fretfet2]

I am fortunate to have several jams in the area where I live from which I can pick and chose. In the short time I have been playing I have tried a few. Most of the time people are very friendly and encouraging , but there are times where some are not so much. It may be painful to hear and have to sit through some folks songs. However it can be more difficult,as most of you know, to have the confidence to bring a song as a new player and successfully execute the vocals, chords and instrument break to a jam. I have found that despite ones best efforts a lot can go right or wrong. Anything can and will happen at a jam. But I have met a great group of folks that know where I am at and are supportive to my efforts.
I think the best thing to do is try a jam that has a slow jam as a newbie and then gradually start stepping outside that to other groups. Form your own jam group. Practice a lot and learn to wing it when things are not correct. Laugh a lot if necessary it is a jam not a paid performance. Get what you can from the jam you attend and go elsewhere if you are not getting any enjoyment out if it. Believe me I have seen some more experienced people have some stuttering in their playing and singing too. Keeping the music alive and recruiting new players should be a goal .

[AlanN]

At a jam:
2. The guy always pulling out the jam buster; original tunes with multiple chord changes no one knows, or familiar song in a key most are unfamiliar with and doesn’t bother to run through the tune with everyone else first.
7. The “correcter” who swears “you can’t do that song in D, it always is in G” or similar. Or insists “that’s not how it goes, the original artist does it like this…”

#2 is annoying. Think Larry Sparks tunes One of his numbers, which I love, is Blue Virginia Blues. One guy in the jam I hit insists on doing this, in D chord. With the level of picker skill in place, and the sheer number of pickers, it simply does not work. And that number ties into #7, in this case, BVB really belongs in F. I know the singer chooses the key most comfortable...we've discussed this before here...but, that whole tune screams F, particularly for the mandolin kick and solo.

[Mark Wilson]

At a jam:
1. Noodlers
2. jam busters
3. out of tuners.
4. no rhythmers
5. proud knowing nothingers
6. Endless lead players.
7. The “correcter”
8. Silent player .
9. same song guy.
10. The Teaser.
11. Non-finisher

condensed version

good read thx!

[Tobin]

Lots of what has been said above resonates with me, and I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one that has some issues with "lesser players." I'm not one to talk disparagingly about other players, but I have reached a point where I'm just tired of humoring those who play crappy, have been playing crappy for years and have no intention of ever improving.

I think everyone has similar thoughts at some point, whether they will ever admit it or not. When you work hard to learn an instrument and get better over time, you sort of expect that everyone else would be doing the same. And it's frustrating to play with a group that has members who just aren't improving, or worse, don't even show any signs that they're even trying to improve.

I do want to be real careful on this point, though, since most of us are not classically trained like yourself. There does have to be a level of understanding that jam circles are not expected to be held by professional-level players. That's why people like jams. It's just regular people who enjoy playing amateur music together, with a good sense of camaraderie and mutual enjoyment. It is not going to be at the same level of a professional performance. Such expectations are unrealistic. If one wants to play at professional levels only, then start a band. Jams are not the place for that.

There does have to be some accommodation for people who are mediocre and will always be mediocre. Obviously, the level of mediocrity that is acceptable will depend on the dynamics of each particular jam group. Some folks are just not natural musicians, and are probably doing the best they can, especially if they learned to play later in life (as many did). I sure hate to disparage those folks or lump them in with the ones who just don't bother to try. It's important to recognize the difference.

I will say from experience that when I was first starting out and wasn't capable of much, the encouragement I got from others at the jam was a big part of what inspired me to improve and work on things for next time. And the regular support I got (and still get) from the folks there, including compliments over time that I was improving, have been very important to me. It irks me when people treat jams like some sort of contest to see who plays the best so they can look down their noses at those who are not as talented. And let's all be honest about this, OK? We all, to some degree, gauge our skill by others in the jam. We want to learn from those who are better, but when we get to be better players, we need to think about how to support those who are still learning. Not to look down our noses at those who are "lesser players".

So we should all be asking ourselves whether our behavior at jams is supportive and encouraging, or derisive and discouraging. When we see a picker who isn't doing well, do we even think about how we could encourage him or her, or do we just write them off as not worthy of playing with? Do we ever think back to when we were at that stage, and try to remember what helped us or encouraged us, and try to do the same for others?

At a jam:
9. Again, the person who plays the same songs every time it’s their turn, every jam, week after week. Doesn’t want to learn any new tunes.

This one bothers me sometimes, but I sort of do understand why it happens. It really depends on the group, but introducing a new tune can be VERY difficult. I've tried it numerous times, and can't figure out how to get an entire jam circle to pick up a new tune without resorting to passing out sheet music or something. It's fairly easy to do with a guitar, when you're singing. But a non-vocal tune where you're playing lead on a mandolin? That's difficult for others to follow. I have managed to get a few new tunes going at the jam (traditional fiddle tunes, not "new" tunes), but I've bombed on trying to teach them on way more than I can count. So I tend to stick to a core repertoire that I know others can follow.

There's a very fine line between introducing new tunes and being a constant "jam-buster". Do you have any advice on how to successfully teach a new tune to a jam group who may not be familiar with it, when leading with a mandolin? I've tried going through the chord progression beforehand, but nobody can remember it all the way through. And I hate to turn a jam into some sort of lesson. I just can't seem to find a good way to get tunes introduced to a group when nobody else is familiar with it.

[AlanN]

When we lived up north, I used to hit a weekly jam in NYC at a place called The Jolly Roger. You can imagine the wide breadth of type of picker, sometimes pros would show up, some street people with shoelaces for straps around their out-of-tune guitars - Lower East Side, a bar, TV on, late night shenanigans. It was too small and noisy a place to split into more than one thing, so it often devolved into one big free for all. Horrid. I remember one time, we had a decent small-group thing going, when I heard "Open up the jam!" from behind me. I yelled back "Tune your guitar!"

[Drew Egerton]

Am I the only one that had to Google what a fermata is?
That music appreciation class I had in 2004 or so didn't cover it well.

Alan, I'd love to jam with folks who know BVB regardless of the key!

There is some sort of weird vortex at the jam down in Troutman where they play a lot of tunes that I've never heard of (until the 4th week of playing them all again), but they don't know a lot of standard tunes either. It becomes by biggest frustration in deciding to go or not just trying to come up with songs that I think they can play. I've about got them all to get through Bluegrass Stomp OK but they had never heard of it until I started playing it. Salt Creek is usually a disaster. Luckily my banjo player buddy goes and it does help to have at least 2 people on the same stage. We had a fiddle player go with us one time and we all 3 played Southern Comfort. Outside of the 3 of us it was a train wreck.

[farmerjones]

Do you have any advice on how to successfully teach a new tune to a jam group who may not be familiar with it, when leading with a mandolin? I've tried going through the chord progression beforehand, but nobody can remember it all the way through. And I hate to turn a jam into some sort of lesson. I just can't seem to find a good way to get tunes introduced to a group when nobody else is familiar with it.

Maybe have a bell-wether guitar picker beside you. So the gang can follow his hands.
This guy may be able to be taught the new tune's changes over coffee break time, or taken to a quiet corner. Kind of a team effort, or buddy system.

[FLATROCK HILL]

Maybe have a bell-wether guitar picker beside you. So the gang can follow his hands.
This guy may be able to be taught the new tune's changes over coffee break time, or taken to a quiet corner. Kind of a team effort, or buddy system.

I think you're onto something there.
Without that one guitar picker who knows the song, and whose chording hand can be used as a visual-aid, all is lost.

[Mark Wilson]

Without that one guitar picker who knows the song, and whose chording hand can be used as a visual-aid, all is lost.

playing in D chord - out of C shape - capo'd up two

[foldedpath]

playing in D chord - out of C shape - capo'd up two

I've sometimes been the guitar backer with OldTime players, and I'm always in Drop-D tuning (from playing the Irish trad stuff). My A chord is halfway up the neck, and my G chord looks weird. Confuses the heck out of people trying to "follow my hand" as a chord guide.

[Pick&Grin]

I will say that after sitting through bluegrass jams and listening to people play Bob Dylan songs on a ukulele, or yodeling cowboy ballads, or Alice in Chains on an acoustic guitar, I have come to appreciate a jam where the organizer wants to stick pretty tightly to a particular genre.

Point well made, Tobin!

[fatt-dad]

I only go to old-time jams. We all sit in a circle and the call goes around the circle. We play in D for a while then we change over to G or A. It's friendly to the dulcimers and banjos. Everybody plays in unison and the goal is to find consensus in tempo, melody and phrasing. After a lap or two, we usually find our common ground - it's sort of like a hippie drum circle approach to jamming.

bluegrass jams just don't much appeal to me.

f-d

[Rick Crenshaw]

Our local area bluegrass association has just about died because of the issue of differing skill levels. It now consists of very content slow jammers and mediocre players with a couple of pickers who have improved but have no one else to pick with. The association had killer players at one time. You could attend a Saturday jam and find 8 or 10 circles going. One was always just about right for your level. They had a separate room for the 'slow jam' which was supposed to get people up to speed to join in the rest of the pickers. It was loads of fun, but it didn't last.

This is where I cut my teeth and let me tell you I was NOT a bluegrass picker and had a lot to learn. But learn I did and I listened. I worked hard to slowly work my way up the levels to get with the guys I thought I could learn from. I made sure I didn't step on anything musically, slowly working my way into the better jams through listening and solid practice. It took years. And, I ASKED for help from those guys AFTER the jam. Just a few words of what I should be doing, what I did wrong, etc. I found that if you worked at it you could handle a hot jam, you didn't have to be at the level of the best pickers, you just had to keep up rhythmically and not screw it up for the next guys and gals. If you didn't know a song or thought you couldn't keep up, you let the ones who knew it, have it.

Eventually, everyone wanted to pick with the best... I get it. But a good bluegrass jam can't really handle more than about 5 or 6 pickers and three singing. People began to complain that the circles were too tight and the hot pickers should help the newbies along. Many insisted on getting in the best circles. Turning the hot jam circles into sing-a-longs and thrashing rhythm circles killed the good pickers interest. I get that too. If you only get away a few hours on Saturday, why bother driving in when you can't get a good groove going? Within two or three years, the good picking was gone and the only survivors were those who remained in the back room of slow jammers.

Like most of those pickers who left, I was invited into a few private jams and eventually formed a band with three others. That's almost all I play with now and after seven years, it is hard to play with living room pickers who can't or won't keep time, don't listen to what the other players are doing and basically just want to be heard and seen. Making music as a group doesn't work like that and anyone who has aspired to be in a top notch band knows that. You don't even have to be that great a picker, but you have to listen, flow, blend, etc. to make good musical sounds together.

Limited group size is likely part of the reason that BG gets painted with the snobbery label. Size in instrumentations and number of folks singing and singing the right parts. This is a highlight for many good BG pickers. Group singing like a church choir just doesn't fit. So I understand both sides. To learn bluegrass you need to find people. Getting the right level and number is tough but it is important. I suppose many of the snobby jerks have been through difficult times keeping a good groove going. It is also quite probable that there is a tendency to lock into the familiar. And then again, maybe some of them are just jerks.

For that reason, I would suggest that pickers go listen to the jams first. Maybe keep your instrument in the trunk of your car till you find out what is happening at the jam. Jams must be able to break up into manageable groups. No jam needs two basses or three banjos, etc. Be ready to start a new group, but take care not to snag the best players from a current jam circle.

It's tough for new pickers, I know. I don't even like to go to big conventions because there are people who go year after year looking for the same guys and are quite wary of the new guys. Don't afraid to be the most experienced in the group. If a group looks set and happy and you think they are cooking faster than you can go. Listen and move on.

That's just how BG works. Old time is different. Everybody start picking away. I'm glad those who engage in enjoy it. It's just not my thing. For one thing, singing three and four part harmony is a high priority with me. So I won't be invading your Old Time jam. I'll listen for a spell, though.

[mtm]

[QUOTE=Tobin;1476532]
There does have to be some accommodation for people who are mediocre and will always be mediocre. Obviously, the level of mediocrity that is acceptable will depend on the dynamics of each particular jam group. Some folks are just not natural musicians, and are probably doing the best they can, especially if they learned to play later in life (as many did). I sure hate to disparage those folks or lump them in with the ones who just don't bother to try. It's important to recognize the difference.

Do I know you??? (joke) I'm mediocre, thought I would be a "natural" because of a love of music but have found that I'm not, and started way too late (50s). I get better ... very very slowly ... but I'm pretty disappointed where I am after 3 yrs. But ... playing is fun so as long as I don't drag anyone else down, no harm, no foul !!!

[Freddyfingers]

Wow! What an eye opener. As someone that has played at many different open mikes over many years and even hosts one now, I can say I understand what all are saying and the frustrations they are feeling. But, in my eyes, it's not all that. If I host an open mike, it's exactly that. The add says acoustic, meaning don't bring your half stack. But if you want to play blue moon of Kentucky in the key of c#, go right ahead. If it's called open, all are welcome. Can't discriminate at that point. If you don't like the person doing his acoustic version of breaking the law by Judas Priest, then you are free to leave, or chill out until something you like comes or its your turn. I like it when beginners come out. If some of you recall the first time you played in public , I am sure you would I have appreciated some encouragement. Which is what I give them, and the audience follows. Heaven help the first slob that ever boo's or makes a heard negative comment. They will be told to leave. Some nights have some decent folks playing music I am unfamiliar with , and I enjoy as my approach to art is all is good. I am not the music judge. That's on television too many nights a week. So I will nurture those that need it, applaud all that make an effort and thank them for coming. To me that's an open mike Open to all. If not it would be called a closed mike or private party.

A jam is a little different. Yet the ones I go to do not have the arrogant issues quoted here. Or maybe we just don't see it that way. If you are a top notch player and get frustrated that others in the jam are not at your level, leave. Or start your own jam with top notch players. The best jams I have ever been to or ran had a diverse group of players. From I just got this instrument last week to local pros that blow away all. We all are one. We help each other as its not a competition, but a fun time. Pros and beginners sharing a stage both in a way learning from the other. What I hear in this thread is an unopeness to all, and a wanting to be surrounded by more folks like ourselves. That's not good and no one goes further in those circumstances.

Anyone in central va is welcome to the jam I run. Pm me.

[Timbofood]

Drew, I had to look that one up too! I have used the term "sesure" (say-soor) or "pregnant pause".
I think I have gone about as far with this subject as I can be constructive so, I will leave it for those with either more time or patience. I simply leave when I decide I have had enough, if it was fun, I might return, if not, more water to fish somewhere else.

[Emmett Marshall]

If I was king for the day, the only reason I'd exclude someone from a jam is disrespect or an unwillingness to follow a few simple rules - rules that would prevent them from slowing others down or being an annoyance until they got up to speed someday. And if they never did, they'd probably leave anyhow. Beyond that, if other people were getting frustrated or impatient with a newbie, or felt they were being slowed down, I wouldn't even call it a "jam" anymore, and I'd think that those guys ought to go and start a band or do their own thing somewhere - but what do I know? Not much. I know that I wouldn't feel that I was even attending a "jam" if the other players expected me to always keep up. I would feel like it was an exclusive group and I didn't fit in. It would actually tick me off that they let me show up in the first place - if it was presented as an "anyone can play" type jam session.

[Tobin]

But a good bluegrass jam can't really handle more than about 5 or 6 pickers and three singing.

...

Limited group size is likely part of the reason that BG gets painted with the snobbery label. Size in instrumentations and number of folks singing and singing the right parts. This is a highlight for many good BG pickers. Group singing like a church choir just doesn't fit.

I think you just hit the proverbial nail on the head! This is one of the biggest drawbacks about open jams. I mean, I do enjoy getting together and playing with others, and the jams that I've been to have been very nice and friendly. I like hearing new tunes and getting some variety from different players. But the group size is not desirable once it goes above the core BG ensemble level. My wife has stopped going to the jam with me because of this; the group is just too large, and the music becomes more of a cacophony instead of the tight coordinated sound it should be. She has difficulty following when there are too many people.

The usual jam I go to has about 4 to 5 guitar players, 2 to 4 mandolin players, one bass player, one fiddle player, and one banjo. Aside from being too big of a group, the instrumentation is out of balance. 5 guitars is too much. The rhythm gets muddy. And having more than one mandolin chopping at a time is just not cool. So me and the other main mandolin player there tend to try to work around each other. He will do fills, or I'll switch over to a more musical non-chop chord style. We do play a lot of stuff other than bluegrass, but still, I think there's a limit to how big a jam circle should be, regardless of the type of music. Above that limit, it's just difficult to keep everyone together and it starts to sound like a school orchestra recital.

I even think there should be limits on OT or ITM jam/session sizes, if one wants to really have good tight music. One of each instrument is ideal. Maybe two, if they know how to coordinate with each other. But beyond that, the music loses a lot of character and clarity.

[AlanN]

Not only that, but add in out of tune instruments and it becomes very bad.

A peeve of mine in the vocals is that cat who insists on singing the part called 'same'. On the chorus, when I hear another person come in with the same vocal part (usually the lead), I cringe. And stop. And say "Oh, you're going to sing it?"

[UsuallyPickin]

I keep reading this conversation and find a great deal I can agree with and some things that are sadly obvious. I understand that people like to take up instruments in their later years when they "have time" . I don't mind helping those folks along in their quest to play music at whatever level of competency they are want to and are able to attain. But I believe there are bottom line skills any player needs to accomplish before they venture out into the world of music. Keeping time is one of these skills. If you can't keep time you can't successfully play with other musicians. If you can't change chords at the tempo of the music being played keep practicing but don't drag down somebodies jam. Keeping your instrument in tune and playing in tune is another "must do" . If a player can't tell if they are out of tune ...... it's just sad. Either their ear has physical problems or they are not pitch sensitive. Care and concern for blending with the music of others is another music / jam skill to achieve. I sometimes forget this one myself in the excitement of making music live. Lastly .. actually knowing the music you attempt to play. Showing up anywhere poorly prepared to do anything is something to be avoided in my book. But then I'm not one of those " let's just launch it and see what happens" kind of people. Soooo I keep going to different jams trying to fit in ....but finding a perfect jam seems to be as elusive as finding a perfect partner. Those that do are twice blessed. R/

[Mandobart]

Do you have any advice on how to successfully teach a new tune to a jam group who may not be familiar with it, when leading with a mandolin? I've tried going through the chord progression beforehand, but nobody can remember it all the way through. And I hate to turn a jam into some sort of lesson. I just can't seem to find a good way to get tunes introduced to a group when nobody else is familiar with it.

I don't introduce new tunes with a mandolin - I bring a guitar, and when it comes my turn I'll play basic first position guitar chords to lead the tune. I like to clearly give the name, original artist and key. Then I'll run thru the A part or verse first (slowly and without lyrics if there are any), calling out the chord names (phonetically; I'm sometimes the youngest person there and many can't hear the difference between a "C", "G", "D" etc. when music is playing). Then do the same thing for the B part/chorus. I stay on guitar thru the song, play easy cowboy chords. I don't do the "capo and play everything with key of C and G chord shapes" to make it as easy as possible for others to follow my hands.