Jamables
About Jamables
Welcome to Jamables – the future of spontaneous social music creation. Our mission is to bring people together through the universal language of music, enabling anyone, anywhere, to create music in real time with just a few clicks.
About me
I'm Mark Palmer, an inventor and computer scientist with a lifelong passion for social music.
I went to my first Grateful Dead concert in 1983, where I discovered drum circles. I still remember the joy of being included in creating spontaneous music with strangers, who became friends, and who tend to tolerate each other instead of starting wars.
Since then I've earned fancy graduate degrees, published original computer science research, earned patents, and so on. Over the years I've invented several experimental music technologies.
I've joined many drum circle gatherings and learned some Japanese taiko and African djembe drumming. Since 2008 I've hosted or facilitated more than 600 American freeform drum circle sessions, including ten years of community drumming on Nantucket Island. Since 2020 I've been based in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where I co-host CMDC.
I also support social music festivals like Shambhala In Your Heart, and offer workshops on:
- Basic djembe rhythms
- “Blind jam”: playing with eyes closed to develop listening and mindfulness
- Rhythm games
- Soloing in a freestyle context
I'm writing a history of the origins of freeform drum circles in the USA.
I research what happens when non-musicians come together and try to make music, studying how it unfolds at drum circles and social music festivals. I'm interested in how people perceive spatial and social experience during group drumming, and I want to create a form of music that is more social and more spatial.
My idea of paradise is a place where anyone can jam with anyone else, any time.
Jamables is my idea of how to make that world possible: with just a smartphone, anyone can find others to mix up some unique music, just for fun.
Why Jamables?
Spontaneous music creation
Jamables allows complete strangers to come together and create music, whether at a festival, a park, or just hanging out with friends. With no prior connection, users can mix instrumental tracks to generate music, just for fun.
Accessible to all
Designed for non-musicians and musicians alike, Jamables offers a simple and intuitive interface that makes jamming easy. Select one track at a time, add to the mix, and let the music flow.
Social and spatial
Inspired by the social nature of drum circles and the immersive experience of live music, Jamables offers these experiences to anyone with a smartphone. Whether mixing tracks into a common output or playing independently on each phone, users can enjoy a spatial and interactive musical experience.
About the mark
Three musical notes chase each other around a globe. The circular arrangement is a nod to the mitsudomoe — the three-comma emblem long associated with Japanese drumming, which is played in a group and never alone. The globe is the rest of it: a jam can start anywhere, with anyone.
Join us on our journey
As we continue to develop Jamables, we're excited to invite you to join us on this journey. Whether you're a music lover, a techhie, or someone who simply enjoys bringing people together, there's a place for you in the Jamables community.