Hi, my name is Gerald, and I´m the JAM MUSIC LAB Session coordinator and part of the JAM Blog editorial team. For the last three years, I have been organising the Jam Music Lab Sessions at Loop Vienna (Stadtbahnbögen), and I’ve learned a lot from it.

The most important part is the number of people I´d the pleasure to meet and to play with. To be honest, most of my musical collaborations developed from performing at these Sessions.

But that´s enough about me.

Let’s talk about the things I’ve learned about Sessions and the phrase “I´m not good enough”.

I´ve seen many musicians that were too scared to participate in Sessions because they thought they were not good enough. The funny thing is the fact also many people who came by, actually played and had a great time. It´s normal to judge yourself but don´t miss the opportunity to join Sessions just because you think you can´t do it.

Let me share a story with you:
One night I attended a great Session, and there was a young violin player.
First, she was in the audience listening carefully. After one song, she walked up to me in a pretty shy way and asked if she could play with us. Before I was even able to respond, she was busy talking about how bad she was and that it´s ok if I tell her to leave the stage if she wasn’t good enough. I said that I would be happy if she joins us and so she did. After 2 minutes she finally managed to play one note, and suddenly I could see the relief in her eyes. She wasn´t playing much, but she listened to the other musicians. Looking back, she was a critical part of the music that was happening. After the Session, she came back to me and said how thankful she was for the possibility to play with us.

The lesson of this story is: it´s all about the respect for the other musicians and communicating what you want, or can do.

Be honest with yourself! You don´t have to play uptempo 16 note lines to be able to play at Sessions. In most cases, it´s enough to play just a few notes to compliment the music. If you are not brave enough to join the stage, just listen and maybe you will be on there next time.

The Jam Music Lab Sessions are taking place every two weeks at Loop Vienna with Free Entry and good vibes  – everybody is invited!

I’m looking forward to meeting you all at the next Jam Music Lab Session!

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