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Tips — Learning Tunes for a Jam Session

1. Learn by ear. The best way to learn any tune (in any genre) is to play along with the original recording. Although most beginners start with sheet music, learning tunes by ear is better than learning with sheet music.
2. Practice with play-along software. Download and install iReal Pro to help practice these tunes.
3. Keep iReal Pro handy. Many jazzers use iReal Pro on their phones or iPads during jam sessions for tunes they do not have memorized.
4. Leave the sheet music at home. It is uncommon, and generally frowned upon, to use sheet music for these common tunes at a jam session. If you don’t have a tune memorized, you’re probably not ready to play it at a jam session.
5. Come prepared. Learn at least one or two common jazz tunes before attending your first jam session. See Sample Jazz Tunes That Every Jazzer Should Know below.
6. When in doubt, listen. If you’re not sure, it is usually best not to play, but to listen carefully, when attending a jam session for the first time.
7. Take notes. Make a note of the tunes played at each jam session, because the same tunes are likely to be called at future sessions.

Other Less Common Jam Tunes