Learning the jammer

Gavin Healy, one of the first people ever to learn a jammer wrote:

"I can recall the first time sitting down with the Capel. I didn’t know much about the Thummer at all, especially the layout. For me it was not having any preconceptions of the Capel. I simply plugged it in and started experimenting with an open mind, which is when I realized the same pattern fingering for scales and melodies. I found this absolutely amazing and exciting.

So I think the best way to start with a Thummer Jammer or ZipEx is to simply have fun experimenting with it, not trying to learn songs, melodies or patterns, but just simply banging it and letting the brain develop the motor skills needed. After sometime banging and playing with it, melodies, scales, songs and patterns naturally occur from simply having fun with it."

Sage advice, I've found.

I can add a bit to that - remember that Gavin already knows how to play an instrument, so he is transfering a skill already learned into a new system. for those of us whose instrument is singing, its perhaps a bit slower.

1) Grab some children's music books - the ones in C - just practice the melodies.

2) Useful to practice C maj, F maj inversion (keeping C in common) - this is the basis of 50% of music.

Odd things about the instrument:

 The separation of close natural vs flat or sharp intervals by such a gap is odd at first. Then the fingers get used to it very quickly.

 There is at least some transference of skills from the right to the left hand, speeding up learning times.   

Nick Allott, who tested the Thummer as well:

I also like how the button layout is symmetrically opposite for each hand, making every pattern the same in both hands. This is great because you can then have your stronger hand teach your weaker hand (which is a very effective way to learn). This way of playing is quite different to both piano and guitar (which have higher notes on the left and lower notes on the right). With the Thummer, it’s more a case of lower notes are towards the centre of the body and higher notes are away from the centre. I am still not used to this way of thinking, but I can see logically that it will make more sense over time.