jammr Forum

jammr is designed for improvising to a chord progression (usually 4 or 8 bars).
It is different from playing together in real life. Here is an explanation of how
to successfully jam together using jammr.

1. Post the chord progression in the chat

Enter the chord progression that you want to play into the chat so others know
which chords to play. A simple text notation like “Am Am7 F G” is easy to
read for A-minor A-minor-7 F-major G-major.

If the progression is long or has chord changes within a bar then it helps to
write it like this “Am | Am Am7 | F | G” to show that the Am7 chord is played
partway through the second bar.

Common chord notations:
A - A major
Am - A minor
A7 - A dominant 7
Am7 - A minor dominant 7
Amaj7 - A major 7
Asus4 - A suspended 4
A7b5 - A dominant 7 flat 5
Aadd11 - A major with added 11
Adim - A diminished

2. Set Beats Per Interval (BPI)

Tell jammr how many beats are in the chord progression so it can keep you in
sync. For example, if the chord progression is 4 bars long then set BPI to 16
because 4 bars x 4 beats = 16. Another common BPI value is 48 for a 12-bar
blues.

Use the “!vote bpi 16” chat command to set BPI to 16 or click Vote | BPI in the
menu bar.

This step is essential! If BPI isn't set to the length of the chord
progression then you will not be in sync with others.

3. Set Beats Per Minute (BPM)

Tell jammr the tempo of your jam session so it can keep you in sync. This must
be set even if there are drums. When playing without drums it is recommended
to enable the metronome so you hear the tempo you are playing at.

Use the “!vote bpm 120” chat command to set BPM to 120 or click Vote | BPM in
the menu bar.

This step is essential! If BPM doesn't match the tempo you are playing at then
you will not be in sync with others.

If you follow these 3 steps you will have successful jam sessions with everyone
playing in sync. You can learn more about jammr's interval-based jamming
system in this forum thread.

Edited stefanha (March 18, 2020 15:11:14)

Thank you, Stefan!

Deleted

breimers3
Hello! I brand new as well. Will Jammr work with on-board laptop speaker and mic?

Yes, you can try that. On most computers the sound quality of the built-in mic will be poor.

Most regular uses play through a USB sound device that offers good quality audio, but it's not necessary if you just want to try out jammr. If you use a microphone please wear headphones to avoid feedback.

I'm brand new on Jammr. Mainly a vocalist but also play Blues Harmonica. I'm wondering first of all how to I plug my microphone into my laptop.
Also I'd like to get together with other musicians that like Blues, Classic R & B and
Classic Rock.

santafegal
I'm brand new on Jammr. Mainly a vocalist but also play Blues Harmonica. I'm wondering first of all how to I plug my microphone into my laptop. Also I'd like to get together with other musicians that like Blues, Classic R & B and Classic Rock.

Do you have an audio interface? What kind of microphone?

santafegal: There are many possibilities for recording on your computer.

USB microphones can be plugged straight into your computer. Examples are the Blue Yeti (https://www.bluedesigns.com/products/yeti/) and the Zoom H2n (https://www.zoom.co.jp/products/handy-recorder/h2n-handy-recorder). I haven't tested them but in general this type of microphone is easy to connect and use with jammr.

Consumer microphones can be plugged into the mic input of a laptop, but the sound quality of these microphones and the computer's built-in soundcard is typically poor.

Professional microphones can be connected to a USB audio interface like the Focusrite Scarlett Solo (https://focusrite.com/en/usb-audio-interface/scarlett/scarlett-solo).

You can find lots of reviews and tutorials online about recording on your computer. There are also lots of YouTube videos that show how do this. Once you can record yourself on your computer you'll be able to use jammr too!

can i use a wifi connection?

Ronson
can i use a wifi connection?

Yes. jammr is not sensitive to network latency because it's live but not real-time.

I”m new to this but I love to play Bluegrass music.