For our Jamboree workshop & open jam you just need to turn up!

For our Monday night orchestra sessions sign up on our short form

For our Flotsam residencies, head over to our residency page

You will arrive at 6pm, and go up to the Flotsam rehearsal room. We always start with some warm ups, and at the beginning of term we spend a bit of time getting to know each other. Then someone from the group will teach a folk song or an instrumental tune from somewhere around the world they are connected to. We break this down, and learn it by ear, with no need to read music. We have a break with tea and coffee, and towards the end of the session we go over the things we have learned in previous sessions.

Of course! We always learn by ear. 

Anything acoustic! We particularly love folk and traditional instruments, but we’re open to most things (within reason! 🙂).

Send us an email!

It helps! But the level of your English is not important, and Flotsam is a great place to come if you want to practice… We have all levels, and we’re very welcoming.

We are very inclusive and accepting - and that means you need to be too! Otherwise, we think it’s important to listen, and to give space to others. 

Please prepare a folk song or tune to bring - especially one that you think others might know/want to join in on. Each Jamboree Session has a theme, but all folk music is welcome.

Take turns - if you have played a song, give others a chance. It’s fine to join in on songs/tunes that other people bring - but make sure you wait and listen a bit first, so others have a chance to hear it as well.

Chat to others! There’s lots of friendly people keen to talk and help. 

If you need a guitarist to play chords, or someone to play percussion, there’s almost always someone willing to oblige. 

Contact Flotsam - we can give you the link to our shared drive, and at the end of the term, everybody gets a songbook.

We accept everybody over the age of 18. If you are under 18, you can join a Jamboree session - as long as you bring a responsible adult. We do occasionally offer sessions exclusively for children - please get in touch if you’re interested.

This depends on how much time you have! 

I want to commit to a regular activity:

Joining the orchestra takes 3 hours every 2 weeks, plus practice time (we expect that you will spend another hour or two per rehearsal over the course of the fortnight). You can find our term dates here

I don’t have much time, but want to come along occasionally:

The Jamboree - 3 hours, or less if you just want to join for the workshop (1 hour)

I can’t join regularly, but I’d love to spend an intensive time playing:

The residencies are all day for 4 days, with a concert at the end. 

Get in touch! Everybody is very friendly, but if you aren’t sure whether it’s right for you, please do send us a message. You’re also welcome to come and observe before you get stuck in. The Jamboree sessions in particular are a great place to come and meet us - it’s perfectly fine to sit and the back and watch (lots of people do this!)

Because we don’t work with sheet music, there are no limits to what we can do. We have lots of professional musicians who play with us, and we can guarantee you’ll get an opportunity to learn music with us that you might otherwise never play in your day-to-day musical life. It’s also a great way to develop your leadership skills, and to learn really effective communication across musical, cultural & social boundaries.

Yes, we do offer a limited number of travel bursaries offering reasonable travel expenses to those seeking asylum and who wouldn’t otherwise be able to join us. Send us an email, or come and talk to us at the sessions.

Note that travel expenses are for travel within London only.

Our regular sessions are free! We also offer travel bursaries for those who wouldn’t otherwise be able to join us - send us an email if you would like to apply.

Our residencies have a small fee, but we also offer a limited number of free bursary places.

We’re based primarily in Newham, East London, but we regularly perform & run events London-wide, include our monthly Jamboree workshop & jam session in Kings Cross.

No. We welcome people from anywhere - if you can get to us, you’re welcome to join!