Bands at the JAM
All JAM Students are members of two bands: a Morning Clinic Band and an Afternoon Showcase Band.
Morning Clinic Bands
9:00 AM – 11:00 AM, Camp Days 1 – 4
In the mornings, each student is part of a Clinic Band, the students will learn about many facets of music in a band atmosphere: history, music theory, technique, repertoire, charting their own music, and playing music that will aid them in becoming better musicians on their instrument. Clinics are taught by some of the area’s most esteemed music educators and are offered for a wide range of music genres. Students will be placed in a clinic based on their personal musical preference, as denoted on their application form, and they will be part of that clinic for the entire week of camp. We urge all students to step out of their comfort zone with music genre when choosing a morning clinic.
Morning Clinic Band Options
- Clinics will be added according to popular demand
– Unless age requirement for clinic is specified, Clinic Bands are appropriate for all JAM age levels.
A CAPELLA – A vocal ensemble of ear perfection in a vocal performance without instrumentation. Insanely fun for any singer.
SKA - This is one crazy fun clinic band! Jamaican dance music originated in the 1960’s. (Requires a full band with keyboard, horns and vocals. The bigger the better!)
BLUEGRASS – Fiddle, guitar, mandolin, upright bass, accordion, and vocals round out this clinic band!
COUNTRY MUSIC ICONS – Perform the music of the early artists who impacted country music. (Patsy Cline, Hank Williams, Dolly Parton)
FUNK (13-19 yrs) Rhythm driven Soul Music (James Brown, Tower of Power, Sly and the Family Stone).
HIP HOP – NEW! This simple ensemble consists of drums, bass, guitar, keys and a singer with a knack for rapping poetry – this band will be a standout for the JAM this year.
JAZZ FUSION (13-19 yrs) A combination of Jazz, Funk and Rock (Miles Davis, Chick Corea).
JAZZ INTRODUCTION PERFORMANCE (13-19 yrs) (Instrumental Only) Musicians take it up a notch! Learning to play jazz chords and single note lines. This band will perform two songs from the standards repertoire. (Intermediate and up musicians must know treble clef and fret board.)
LATIN ENSEMBLE - Always a BIG hit for THE JAM. Timbales, dual guitars, keys, vocals, and tons of percussion! (Santana, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz)
MOTOWN - Soul music with a distinct Pop influence (Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson).
PRACTICAL JAZZ (15-19 yrs) Basic concepts of applying scales, melodies and techniques. Improve Jazz improvisational skills over standard chord changes. A balanced variety of Jazz styles, Blues, Bossa Novas and Swing. (Students must know trebel clef and fretboard. Advanced musicians only.)
PRAISE AND WORSHIP – A riveting performance band that will leave our audience speechless for 2012! Powerful and moving Pop music with Christian lyrical content (Dave Crowder Band, needtobreathe).
RAP/SUNG COLLABORATION – One of the most prominent music expressions in Pop culture. This is an intense collaboration performance for singer, rapper, and band! (Jay-Z, Rihanna, Kanye West, B.O.B., Drake, Nicki Minaj, Eminem, Beyonce)
R&B/SOUL – In 2011 students were educated on Memphis Soul, this year we expand upon the Chicago/Detroit Soul era celebrating artists like Aretha Franklin, The Supremes, Smoky Robison, The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, The 4 Tops.
“ROCKESTRA” - NEW! This newly formatted clinic is for our growing string section at The JAM. Much like the horns and percussionists we will be utilizing our string players as well, stand up bassists, cellos, violas, violins and more will be working with several bands for clinics as well as showcase bands in selected music genres. Reading music is a must!
ROCK HISTORY PERFORMANCE (13-19 yrs) A performance medley featuring music from some of the greatest milestones in music history. Week One class varies from Week Two.
ROCK ROOTS (11-12 yrs) Classic and Hard Rock music at its best. (This clinic is for our younger players.) Learn the basics and tuning techniques and perform in a classic and hard rock band of the 70’s.
SAN FRANCISCO UNDERGROUND - Explore and perform the impacting music of the 60’s psychedelic rock movement! (Jefferson Airplane, Santana, Grateful Dead).
SONGWRITING – Learn the craft from some of the best in the business! Collaborate, compose and perform your original song. Each class limited to only (4) per group. You will perform this song in the Clinic Showcase. JAM studio band available to back songwriters.
STUDIO BAND VOCALS (11-13 yrs) – Our youngest JAM vocalists will prepare for a show-stopping solo performance with our JAM studio band and receive all the extras as future Divas of the JAM. (Singers bring 2 prepared song choices on CD or iPod for review).
STUDIO BAND VOCALS (14-19 yrs) For our older Studio Band vocalists, we will limit class size to 5. Vocalists in this Studio Band will perform a solo of their choice (the band has no input on your selection) Backed by our experienced JAM studio band. (Singers bring 2 prepared song choices on CD or iPod for review).
THE BLUES – An accumulated history and performance on many distinctive blues styles: Memphis Blues, Chicago Blues, Delta Blues,Traditional and Contemporary (Muddy Waters, BB King, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Janice Joplin)
THE BACK UP PLAN - Only 4 vocalists who know harmony well, will be chosen each week for this roving ensemble that will “fatten up” multiple bands with their rich voices!
THE METALISTS – intermediate & advanced – NEW! (Guitar Players Only) For those who shred metal and for those who want to improve their shredding this is the clinic band for you. One song will be chosen for each clinic to showcase some of The JAM’s finest guitarists. (Audition is required for every student – audition piece should be one song showcasing your soloing – please do not play along with a track!) Students will learn and master arpeggios, sweeping, tapping and a combination of modern blues and classical major and minor scales. The rhythm section will be provided by our most experienced Intern musicians.
THE JAM HORN PLAYERS - You all are the” toast” of The JAM summer music camp! You can count on performing in Ska, Jazz, Soul, Motown, Latin Ensemble and more. And you will be featured with one of our Intern Bands for a show stopping performance!
TRADITIONAL FOLK OF THE 60’s – Explore the roots of Folk music and perform with the influence of Bob Dylan,The Byrds, Beatles.
VOCAL HARMONY BLEND (ACOUSTIC) – Something we want all of our students to know at The JAM! Learn and perform traditional vocal blending technique in an acoustic band setting.
WORLD PERCUSSION – If you want to play in a lot of bands at The JAM this is the where you belong! This roving ensemble’s sole purpose is to enhance as many JAM bands as possible; anyone can and should learn the importance of playing percussion instruments!
Showcase Bands
12:00 PM – 3:00 PM, Camp Days 1 – 4
In the afternoons, each student will be part of a Showcase Band. The Showcase bands consist of players who have a similar music genre preference, experience level, and age, The students are assisted by their instructor, if needed, but they mainly act autonomously to choose songs, name the band, and rehearse. Each student should bring prepared ideas (on their iPods, CD’s, laptops, or MP3’s) for cover songs that they want to perform in their bands. Students should also bring copies of lyric sheets.
Afternoon Showcase Band Options
Examples are given but not limited – Students choose material!
- Current Rock – Kings of Leon, Greenday, The White Stripes, Coldplay
- Pop – Christina Aguilera, Michael Jackson, Beyonce, Miley Cyrus
- Classic Rock – Led Zeppelin, The Who, The Beatles, Cream, ZZ Top, Fleetwood Mac, Hendrix, Joplin
- Bluegrass - Alison Krauss, Ricky Skaggs, Del McCoury Band, Earl Scruggs
- Alternative Rock – Linkin Park, Foo Fighters, Paramore, 3 Doors Down
- Indie – Patti Griffin, Regina Spektor, Jason Mraz, John Mayer, Jack Johnson
- Progressive Rock – Genesis, Pink Floyd, Rush, Radiohead, Muse
- Rhythm and Blues – Alicia Keys, Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin
- Hard Rock - Van Halen, Guns and Roses, Aerosmith, Foo Fighters
- Country - Lady Antebellum, Taylor Swift, Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood
- Indie Rock – The Raconteurs, Feist, Kaiser Chiefs
- Reggae – Bob Marley
- Heavy Metal – AC/DC, Metallica, Def Leppard, Slayer
- GlamRock - Kiss, David Bowie, Alice Cooper
- Southern Rock – Gram Parsons, Marshall Tucker, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Eagles
- Christian Rock – Switchfoot, P.O.D.
- Jazz - Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker
- Hip Hop – Jay Z, Blackeyed Peas, Kanye West, 50 Cent
- Ska – The Skatalites, Streetlight Manifesto
- Punk – The Ramones, The Clash, Blondie
- Grunge – The Pixies, Hella
- Urban Alternative - India Arie, Outkast
- Eighties New Wave - Duran Duran
- Other – as requested by students
