About Sid Lewis
Sid Lewis has been teaching and performing music since his teens. He has shared the stage with Joe Craven, Tony Furtado, Radim Zenkl, Michael Hedges, and many other acoustic stars. He holds the 1990-92 California State Flatpicking guitar championship, and has taught or performed at Strawberry Music Festival, California Worldfest, Live Oak Music Festival, California World Music Festival, Grass Valley Celtic Festival, Oregon Country Fair, and universities everywhere.

"Hello...Just wanted to let you know that I and whoever else attended Sid Lewis Jamming 101® at the Kate Wolf festival this year, had a great time! He is SO entertaining, a regular stand-up comic, while teaching us the basics of jamming. My past experience with workshops at festivals is that they start off great, but within about 15 minutes I am lost in the dust, so frustrated and demoralized that I am ready to give up ever playing my instrument again. Sids workshop is the first one I have ever attended where I was actually inspired, it was a real confidence-builder. He has a definite gift and a great system going. He was actually able to teach us all together, no matter what instrument we were playing (there were fiddles, guitars, banjos, harmonicas, a clarinet, and accordion), and no matter what level of expertise! The success of his workshop was evident in that shy ones were taking breaks (soloing), everyone was smiling during the sessions, and people stayed after to jam on their own. Very educationally enjoyable. I hope you have him sometime to teach at your festival!:)"
-Susan Thompson, Vista, CA

"Just wanted to write down, what I told you at Kate Wolf, I only caught your workshop twice, and only for bits at a time, but if I'd brought my guitar, I would have been there every day, and laughed at the same jokes. You have a way to make them sound spontaneous each time. Which I've asked myself- how does he do it? maybe it's because you project sincerity. maybe it's your attention to others. Timing. or maybe it's because you've been taking notes on your own show for years. I'm one of those closet guitar players, whenever I try to jam with someone else, they give up, right away. What fun is that? Even with a juggling club as my "ax" I could tell, next time I come out of the closet, I'm going to have fun sharing music with someone else.. thanks a great deal!"
-Greg

To whom it concerns-- I am the director of the CBA Music Camp put on by the California Bluegrass Association each year in Grass Valley in June. This year, we hired Sid Lewis to come and lead jams, as one of our main goals is helping people learn to jam together well. Sid was a big hit among our campers--his jams were packed every night, and we will definitely have him back next year. He has a real talent for teaching in a fun, entertaining, and supportive way. Here are some comments from just a few of our happy campers who attended Sid's jams:

"He is simply delightful!"
"I had a fantastic time at Sid's sessions."
"Simply outstanding!"
"Definitely a confidence builder."
"This was the best. Helped me overcome nervousness of doing leads."
"Loved this! Sid helped me feel safe enough to take breaks, even when I didn't know the songs."
"Sid is very good at working with large groups of different instruments and skill levels. Also he's very funny!"
"He is fantastic! A natural teacher who differentiates his teaching to accommodate many levels of playing. I'm a teacher and I enjoy observing good teaching as much as playing music. Sid's got it!"
"Sid's jams were great! As a new player, I felt very comfortable."
"It was my first jam ever and Sid gave me the courage to do it because of his sense of humor."
"Great fun!"
"Good warm-up for camp, loosened everyone up."
"This was fabulous, fun, affirming."
"Sid is very likable, comical, and understanding."
"Sid is great! and it's amazing how he pulls this off. I found it to be a great way to jump into it all. I love Sid!"
"It was a blast! Sid is a great guy, good energy."
"User-friendly, inclusive, entertaining."
"He is a kick and very funny!"
"Bring him back!"


Needless to say, I can with confidence recommend Sid for any festival or camp situation where jammers, especially beginners, need a little extra help to learn to play together happily. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Ingrid Noyes
director, CBA Music Camp
415-663-1342
info@cbamusiccamp.org

About Us...

Sid Lewis's Jamming 101 workshops are educational hands-on group classes for all ages and levels. Our Workshop Leaders combine jamming, humor and written materials to teach novice players the art of playing music together. Jamming 101 has created the profoundly simple concept of "Edutainment", education infused with entertainment to create an effective, fun, and totally participatory learning environment.

Students are taken on a guided journey through all the elements of group playing, that has been described as a “musical adventure”. The Jamming 101 experience is more than a class, it is a tour through the inside world of rhythm and melody, at the same time, being hands-on and allowing the student to participate fully. Jam "Games" are played which range from percussion jams to “found sound”*  and improvising to simple ear training and harmonizing, plus games on timing and different musical styles. Jamming 101 is an experience one will not forget!

Some comments from past students include:

“It was my first jam ever and Sid gave me the courage to do it because of his sense of humor."

"User-friendly, inclusive, entertaining."

"This was fabulous, fun, affirming."

"He is fantastic! A natural teacher who differentiates his teaching to accommodate many levels of playing. I'm a teacher and I enjoy observing good teaching as much as playing music. Sid's got it!"

Jamming 101's slogan, "Musical Fun For Everyone" is more than a catch phrase. The classes are specially designed to include all ages, all instruments, all musical styles and all ability levels.

• All Ages:
  We firmly believes that “ageism” has no place in music and has developed Jamming 101 to suit the interest of any age. Playful musical games and humor make Jamming 101 a favorite for kids and familiar classics and traditions keep oldsters happy! Jamming 101 is fun for the entire family!
• All Instruments:
  All musical instruments are welcome at Jamming 101; even folks without instruments are encouraged to attend! (hand-clapping = jamming) The goal is to have fun playing music with others, on any instrument.
• All Styles:
  Jamming 101 features a one-of-a-kind curriculum based on the “Jam Family Tree” featuring custom material for each venue! The styles covered include traditional Bluegrass, Folk, Irish, Jazz and Swing, and favorite Sing-a-longs! Jamming 101 also provides instructional materials and songbooks for each of these styles — pick your playshop!
• All Levels:
  Unique to Jamming 101 is the trademark 5 Level System, which gives all ability levels a safe place to enjoy the jam. Jamming 101 makes the absolute beginner feel safe and keeps the intermediate players challenged.
  

What makes Jamming 101 unique...
There are plenty of music classes out there, but nowhere will you find the wealth of knowledge on the music, rules and etiquette of the jam session. In the Jamming 101 Course Book (available on our products page) the jammer will learn to organize and run their own jams, recognize tunes and progressions and trade solos using the play-along CD and text. This book is a complete "jam in a box" and contains the methods that make Jamming 101 enjoyable for all musicians of any level. 

Joe Craven calls Jamming 101 "...a roadmap to jamming", and the proprietary teaching concepts that you'll find in the Jamming 101 Coursebook will show you why!               

Among these trademark Jamming 101 concepts are...

• The 5 Level Jam System
• The 10 Jammandments
• The Jam Family Tree
• The Jamanatomy

Developed by Sid Lewis over decades of hands on jamming, these original teaching concepts make a Jamming 101 workshop enjoyable and non-intimidating for everyone. And we mean everyone, from a week-long guitar owner who can barely make a G chord, to a blazing Sam Bush clone. That's because the 5 Level Jam System has a place for all ability levels, and no one gets intimidated or bored!  The 

10 Jammandments gives all players a platform to understand all the critical aspects appropraite jamming etiquette. The Jam Family Tree helps to define the various jam families and the most appropriate style, content and ettiquite of that specific genre of music. And the Jamanatomy provideds a visual explanation of how to trade and share the different parts of a song.

* "The 5 Level Jam System" and the representative info-graphic is the exclusive intellectual property of Sid Lewis and Jamming 101, and is protected by international trademark and Copyright laws. No commercial usage of this concept and/or graphic is permitted without written consent from Sid Lewis.

"Sid will change your musical world"

The Sid Lewis Jamming 101®™ System has been receiving critical acclaim, drawing crowds everywhere, and has proven to turn the most timid beginner into a smiling Jammer. Sid’s Jamming 101®™ has been taught live across the country, podcast worldwide, and featured on National Public Radio.