Students improvised music on the accordion, guitar, shakers, drums, and Sprite cans for dorm jam last week. Other dorm dwellers just enjoyed the sounds the group made.

Keir Johnson, a 24-year-old resident assistant, led the group of student residents through four different numbers structured on two or three chords. The musicians improvised from there, and many played their own music alone or in pairs in Mary Park lounge that night.

Jesse Adams, 18, arrived when people were still filtering in. He tuned his accordion to 19-year-old Dylan Swift’s guitar. The first-year music majors then launched into a vigorous song composed on the spot.

“Jesse on the accordion: that kid is a mad man,” said Swift afterwards.

An SFSU mascot gator also attended. Although she growled more than crooned, she did put a flute in her mouth and try to eat some sheet music.

Michaelryan McCauley, a first-year student, played guitar and sang a song he wrote, and the group joined in. The other guitar players either followed his chords or began experimenting. A complementary piano sequence flowed out of Adams’ racing fingers.


Different student residents rotated through a triangle, maracas, shakers, and rhythm sticks that clacked when banged together. One resourceful musician tapped a Sprite can on top of the piano to make a beat.

“I just hit a shaker, but it was a lot of fun,” said Stacy Yip, the resident assistant who planned the event.

Other musicians also took turns at the piano, and passed their instruments to others eager to try them. The group covered a blues sequence before leaving the lounge with vague plans for future jamming.

“We’re going to do some rhythm circles, like drum circles and stuff,” said Johnson, the resident assistant who facilitated the event.

Many of the musicians who attended had ideas for improving future dorm jams.

McCauley said the event was great, but might benefit from breaking into smaller groups. For the majority of the night, about 25 people played at once.

Marie Bryan, a first-year student who studies classical voice, suggested more singers could perform together while other musicians played their instruments.

Yip said she created the event to address the needs of music majors living on campus.

Hayley Hoffman, another resident assistant and a music major, presented information on succeeding in music courses and graduating on time. Many of the students said they were looking for band members, so Yip provided contact cards for them to fill out and exchange.

Also, some student residents mentioned the difficulty of practicing music in their dorms.

“Making music in the city is a big change,” said Swift, who has four guitars, a voice box, and three distorters crammed into his half of a Towers dorm room.