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Recently I met a great guy who also plays guitar. We became friends and decided to get together once in a while to jam. When the time came, we realized that we do not know what to do musically at our sessions.

We are both still learning, our level may be a little above a beginner. We know stuff like chords and scales, but how can we apply it ti dual playing? Where can we find tabs and noted for the two guitars? Maybe there is some set of exercises, that can speed up your learning if you have a jam-buddy?

I play acoustic folk guitar, he plays electric.

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  • Well, he could solo while you play a chord progression. That's the best way to jam with electric and acoustic. You do the rhythm, he does the licks. There's a ton of stuff - be creative!
    – Jimi Oke
    Jan 14, 2011 at 0:49
  • Can someone give more advanced answer please??? Like what should I play like second guitar player except solo, and few notes per second as rhythm guitar... But those kind of stuff like we see in any live when two guitarists playing, for example one is playing chords, another one some alternate chords... tell us YOUR practice in band PLEASE
    – Anonymous
    Jan 14, 2011 at 6:22
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    You could try 'Take it Easy' by The Eagles. On accoustic you'd play chords (chordie.com/chord.pere/www.thudspace.net/tabs/e/eagles/…), and electric you'd play the lead (tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/e/eagles/take_it_easy_solo_tab.htm).
    – Anonymous
    Jan 16, 2011 at 21:23

6 Answers 6

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Since I can't edit answers, I'll post my own, but this builds on what others have written.

When you're at a relatively beginner level (as I am!), you're not gonna be whipping out amazing solos or harmonies. Go for the basics - pick a chord progression (the classic I-IV-V never hurts), and just both strum or pick along to it. Hopefully you can fall into a standard rhythm. As Håvard mentioned, have fun and communicate.

Once you're both playing the same chord progression together and not messing up, have one of the players try a "solo". Don't worry about it being amazing - I can't remember where I heard this advice, but playing on a single string can sound amazing, especially with another person backing you up with the chords. If you know chords and scales, you should be able to play along the scale that matches the chords you're playing, and that's often enough. Don't worry about messing up a note here and there, just keep playing, and when your solo time is done, go back to the chords and let the other person have a go.

After a while, switch up the chords you've chosen.

Lastly, don't be afraid to sing along, even if it's just nonsense, or lyrics from another song, or lyrics about how you can't think of any new lyrics. Some of my greatest laughs while jamming have been over lyrics like "I have no idea what to say next, so I'll just ohhh oh oh ohhhh oh ohhh"!

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  • The part about both playing complimentary rhythm parts is especially good. Learning to blend two guitars together is a skill I wish more guitarists had. Most of the time you just get a guitarist that wants to wail away on a solo, or strum out a big loud rhythm. Try letting one person take the lead, and have the other work at just filling in the little spaces with complimentary tones.
    – Anonymous
    Jan 14, 2011 at 4:16
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You can't go wrong with learning to play 12-bar blues. Pretty much every guitarist anywhere knows how to play the blues, at least to some degree, so when you meet another guitarist for the first time, you can almost always just sit down and jam.

Both you and your buddy should learn to play both rhythm and solo, and trade back and forth. You'll both progress quickly if you keep at it.

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I think the best thing you could possibly do; is pick a song which you both like and is within your comfort zone to learn; and play that.

Whether you play this note for note, or make it your own, it will get you playing together, do a couple of these and you will start to get to know each others styles of playing. Pretty soon you will be jamming 'off the cuff' as it were.

If you want to start doing 'off the cuff' right away; then some standard chord progressions is a good place to start.

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In my view, what makes playing together good has a lot in common with what makes human relations good.

If you're playing for the joy of it, the key that will make it stay fun is to find a common musical ground. Sit down, pick bands and songs that you both like, and get chords/tabs/notes for those songs. Learn the songs, improve by utilizing the strengths of each of you as a guitar player.

If you're playing to learn, a good approach could be to teach each other things one knows better than the other. Also, learn new techniques, songs, etc., and present what you've learned to your partner.

There are a lot of social dynamics involved in playing together, so be sure to communicate well. Praise and critique each other sensitively.

More important than anything, don't forget to have fun!

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Rythm (four quarter note by chord) :

Am Dm E7 Am Dm Am E7 Am

Solo : Minor pentatonic in A ;D

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Re: The below answer, I didn't notice I had dug up a really old thread, and thought I was looking at an unanswered question. Sorry to raise thread, but i think the below is still a valid suggestion for anyone starting out playing together for the first time. Anyway....

One thing that I ran into when I first started playing with other guitarists was that, depending on experience, the rhythm would usually fall apart, or be uneven, or other mistakes would make attempts to play together fall apart after a few moments. IE: a small hiccup in my playing rhythm would throw off the other inexperienced players and kill the song.

I found that using youtube to search for backing tracks IE: "Blues in A Major", or playing a CD of a backing rhythm while jamming helped in many ways:

1) You can still play rhythm over it, and by playing to a backing track, you will start to improve with keeping time, etc.

2) If the rhythm player makes a mistake or drops out, the backing track keeps the sound filled in, allowing the "lead" player to keep on while the rhythm player finds the groove and hops back in.

3) You can both play lead lines back and forth call and response style. Or share melodic ideas. Harmonize lead lines.

4) Eventually you can turn down the volume on the backing, and then completely get rid of it.

I think doing something like this will make your jam sessions more enjoyable at the beginning, and lead to better playing in the end.

Thanks!

Steve

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