Thanks for visiting. This site is currently getting redesigned and things are a little messy. If you are looking for something and can’t find it, please email Jason at jason@knowingtrees.com . He’ll do his best to be helpful!
p.s. 2011!?!?!?!? Wow, I have been at this for a long time.
Recently, I was passing along some approaches toward, and conventions within, a sing-along-style jam. I was reminded of this article from Acoustic Guitar Magazine.
I was interviewed for the article, and I’m proud to say that a lot of my thoughts were included!
❞ Yet, it’s not a performance. Those people are your allies, not your audience. “It’s more like basketball than theater,” says Jason McInnes, a guitar teacher who leads several regular jams at Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music. “Everybody wants the game to keep going, so they’re going to do everything they can to keep it going.”
Journey back to the era of flannel, grunge, and iconic acoustic performances in this unique music class for adults! “MTV Unplugged: The Acoustic ’90s” offers a deep dive into the legendary live sessions that epitomized the decade.
Whether you’re an experienced musician or just picking up an instrument, this class provides a fun and engaging environment to learn and play some of the most beloved songs from the 1990s.
The Music Crew Unplugged classes run on Wednesdays, 6:00 to 8:00 for eight weeks, beginning July 9.
We’ll meet at the Saavedra Filing Station, 225 Saavedra RD SW.
Get on the bus this summer as you, your intrepid teacher Jason McInnes, and your fellow Deadheads gather for this eight-week adult education music class dedicated to exploring and performing the music of the Grateful Dead.
Designed by considering the needs of beginning, intermediate and advanced musicians, this course offers a deep dive into the band’s rich catalog, from beloved classics like “Truckin’” and “Friend of the Devil” to deeper cuts and extended jams.
The class includes hands-on instruction, group rehearsals, and opportunities to jam in a relaxed, collaborative setting. Whether you’re a guitarist, bassist, vocalist, keyboardist, drummer, or other instrumentalist, you’ll gain new insight into the Dead’s music through playing it among a generous, encouraging community.
The class will culminate with a gig during The Days Between; the week of celebration and commemoration between the anniversaries of Jerry Garcia’s birth (Aug.1) and death (Aug. 9). Gig details TBA.
What an honor to be asked to share our love for Ella Jenkins for the Children’s Hour podcast.
I think the host, Katie Stone, did a fantastic job capturing the many ways that Ella touched so many lives.
When you listen, you’ll also hear the Young Stracke All-Stars perform Ella’ This Train. What a delight to hear this song on the radio so many years after we recorded it.
Last night wrapped up the Late Winter 2025 session of Guitar Crew. The Crew was made up of five guitar players with experiences ranging from less than a year to many years.
We finished by recording our own arrangement of Bob Wills’ Faded Love. This is a recording of the five members of this sessions’ Crew. I’m accompanying on percussion.
We covered many skills and concepts this session. Some of those topics, which you can hear in this arrangement, were:
Basic chords changes
Learning songs by ear
The hows and whys of playing songs in different keys
Knowing our roots and 5ths of each chord and using that to play alternating bass strums
Working with the major scale and using that to create bass walks in between chord changes
Singing and playing at the same time.
Playing the chord changes in different locations on the guitar, either with “mini shapes” or using a capo.
Ensemble playing (play strong and also make room for the other musicians)
Playing a melody and improvising over chord changes
Here’s Guitar Crew with
Faded Love
In class, we work together to make the arrangements of the songs we play. These are the notes from our arrangement of Faded Love.
I think it sounds so good! Congratulations, Guitar Crew!
The Early Spring session of Guitar Crew begins in mid-March. We’d love to have you be part of the Crew! Send me a note if you have anyquestions.
I was quite honored when, last summer, Jonas Friddle of Banjo After Dark, asked me to make a guest video.
The topic I choose was one we regularly work on in Guitar Crew; knowing which songs are appropriate to bring to the jam.
In this video I share my thoughts on, why it’s fun to bring a song to lead at an open jam, the types of songs to lead, and a few pointers to smooth the bumpy road that that beginning song leaders alway encounter.
Do you have any advice to share, or an interesting story from a time when you lead a song, or when you heard someone else lead a song? We’d love to hear it!
p.s. I highly recommend joining Jonas’ Banjo After Dark Patreonpage. It’s free to join (although tossing a few bucks his way is always helpful) and I think you’ll find some fantastic resources.
Jason McInnes Teaches How To Choose A Jam Song on Banjo After Dark.
In the previous post I wrote a about recording recording Little Birdie with puja and maria. That got me thinking about Frank Hamilton who taught me that song when I went to visit him in 2010.
Here’s a recording of Little Birdie as we sang it that day.
I talked with Frank the other day and he sounds fantastic. His enthusiasm and positivity rang through my earbuds just like always. It had been a long time since we talked and I was very glad to hear his voice.
It was the summer of 2015 and there was an excited buzz in the air as the audience was finding their seats for the Young Stracke All-Stars album release show. It had become known that Ella Jenkins had made it to the show, and everyone knew they were in the presence of someone very special. Ella and I had met several times and had even played some gigs together, but we didn’t know each other so well yet. I was quite honored that she had accepted our invitation, and that we could share our music with her.
By the fall of 2015 I had heard that Ella had moved into an assisted care facility not far from the Old Town School of Folk Music, where I was teaching, and the neighborhood where I lived. Eventually, something inside me clicked and I thought, “Oh. The kids don’t have school next Monday because of the holiday. We should go visit Ella!”
For the rest of my time in Chicago, we had a regular meetup with Ella when school was not in session. I’d stop at the store to pick up some snacks for the kids, a bouquet of flowers, and peppermint ice cream, which was Ella’s favorite.
We’d all gather in a communal room at the facility. This room had a piano and lots of space for us to spread out our instrument case, winter coats and snacks and little siblings would have room to roam freely. The facility staff was always very kind and graciously put up with us moving the furniture around.
Sometimes we’d have lots of families, other times it was just a few. No matter what we’d always have quite a time singing The Cuckoo, This Train, This Little Light of Mine and lots of other favorites! Often, a small crowd of other residents and their caregivers would gather to sing and clap along with us.
Emma Reading her School Report About Ella
I’m not sure how affected the kids were by being in the presence of someone famous, which Ella was. But Ella’s aura was never about fame. The intense, potent energy that one felt in Ella’s presence came from her love of music and community.
When I think back on my time leading the Young Stracke All-Stars, and teaching in Chicago, these are some of my strongest memories. Not memories like stories, but memories of a feeling that, through our visits, we were all able to gather our lessons in music and community and take them out of the classroom and bring them to life in the larger world. In many ways, that world had, at least some way, been opened to us by Ella Jenkins and her music.
Sharing some artwork.
It was in afternoons like these, and other days when it was just Ella in me, that she became a very dear friend of mine. I’m not sure she could always remember my name, but I know that she knew who I was and she was always glad to have me visit. We had an understanding that we traveled together in the spirit of music.
I was lucky that she and I had some quiet, peaceful time together on her 100th birthday, last August. Ella was very tired, but the sound of my uke perked her up and soon she was all smiles and lifted up by the music and singing along and playing imaginary drums. As you might imagine, we sang through some favorites; the Cuckoo, This Little Light of Mine and one of her favorites, The Glory of Love as performed by her friend Big Bill Broonzy.
Celebrating Ella’s National Heritage Fellowship Award One time I brought my record player so Ella could listen to the Young Stracke All-Stars’ 7″ record.
Ella’s spirit traveled on, on November 9, 2024.
It make me sad that I won’t be able to sing with her in person anymore. Thankfully, at least one of her songs comes to my lips every day.
I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to learn so much from her and to have spent so much heart-felt time together.
Love you, Ella! I miss you so much. Thank you for opening your heart to me. Jason
Putting on a show for all the other residence to celebrate Ella’s birthday.
Always bring some flowers!
Erin and I stopped by to watch the National Heritage Fellowship award show. Ella couldn’t travel to DC to be part of it, but we had a wonderful time watching together.
Maria was able to drop by!
Ella LOVED to play in A minor. She’d say, “They used to call me A minor Ella!”
If you want to play, you’ve got to start somewhere. And there is no better place for you to get started.
Thursday, Aug. 18 – 7:00 to 9:00
Live in Chicago!
Borelli’s (pizza and drinks) 2124 W Lawrence Ave, Chicago, IL 60625
> Single Player or Bring a Friend/Bandmate tickets available. <
What You’ll Receive
Guidance to begin soloing THAT DAY, and for your continued study for years to come.
Play along MP3s, so you can continue to grow your new skills outside of the workshop.
PDFs of all the material covered
Complimentary access to Jason’s Creating and Understanding the Guitar Notemap online lesson.
Schedule – This 2 hour workshop will be broken up into two sections with a 10 minute break
80 minutes – the heart of the lesson
10 minute break
30 minutes – Jamming along. We’ll play through a ton of familiar tunes and have a lot of space to explore everything we just learned about.
Cost
Single Player – $35
Bring a Friend/Bandmate! – $60 for the two seats
Registration and Payment
Please fill out this registration form and then make a payment using one of these payment systems. If these do not work for you, please mention that in the notes and we’ll figure out how a payment can happen. (FYI- my first name is William. I think Zelle and Paypal comes up as William McInnes. That’s me!)
