I. Thou shalt not ever forsake the beat.
II. Thou shalt arrange thyselves in a small circle so that thou mayest hear and see the other musicians.
Thou shalt listen with thine ears to the songs and attempt to play in accord with the group; also, open
thine eyes betimes to look about thee, lest there be some visual sign someone is endeavoring to send
thee. Thou shalt play softly when someone lifteth his voice in song, when playing harmony, and when
thou knowest not what thou is doing.
III. Thou shalt play in tune. Tune thine instrument well, and tune it often with thine electric tuner, lest the
sounds emanating from thine instument be unclean.
IV. Thou shalt commence and cease playing each tune together as one, so that the noise ye make be a
joyful noise, and not a heinous tinkling that goeth in fits and starts, for that is unclean, and is an
abomination. Whensoever a musician sticketh forth his foot as though he were afflicted with a cramp in
the fatted calf, thou must complete the rest of that verse, and then cease.
V. Thou shalt stick out thine own foot or else lift up thy voice crying "This is it !", or "Last time !" if thou
hast been the one to begin the song, and it has been played sufficient times over. If the one who began
a tune endeth it not by one of these signs, then the tune will just go on and on, like the Old Testament,
until the listeners say, "Hark ! It all soundeth the same."
VI. Thou shalt concentrate and thou shalt not confound the music by mixing up the A part and the B
part. Most songs, but not all, proceedeth according to the ancient law "AABB". But if thou sinneth in this
regard, or make any mistake that is unclean, thou may atone - not by ceasing to play - but by
reentering the tune in the proper place and playing on.
VII. Thou shalt be ever mindful of the key the banjo is tuned in, and play many tunes in that key, for the
banjo is but a lowly instrument, which must needs be retuned each time there is a key change.
VIII. Thou shalt not speed up or slow down accidentally when playing a tune, for it is an abomination.
(See commandment I)
IX. Thou shalt not, by thine own self, commence noodling off on a tune the other musicians know not,
unless asked or unless thou art teaching that tune, for it is an abomination, and the other musicians will
not hold thee guiltless, and shall take thee off their computer lists, yea, even unto the third and the
fourth generation.
X. Thou shalt have fun and play well.
The Ten Commandments of Jamming
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