Chords for 3 Tips to Jamming on Guitar

So Ian and I are often referred to as the Siegfried and Roy of guitar teachers.
Yeah, yeah.
Which we take as a massive compliment because they're magicians, right?
And we are magicians.
Exactly, and right now, Montecore the White Tiger is like the perfect jam.
And that is kind of like the beast that we're going to summon.
So we're here today to give you three tips on how to play with another musician in a jam setting.
Three very important tips that are often overlooked.
Yes.
Right?
Yeah.
_ What we're going to do right now.
Tip number one.
What do we got?
Tip number one.
Let's see.
Drum roll please.
Dynamics.
All about dynamics.
Dynamics.
Right?
So first of all, let's do an example of when you have no dynamics between a rhythm and
a lead player, what it's going to sound like.
Sure.
Something in the key of G.
I'll go with it.
One, two, three, [G] four. _ _ _
_ [Em] _ Wow, _ [D] _ _ _
[E] _ _ [G] _ _ _ _ _ _
[E] _ that was awesome.
We should just end it right there.
Yeah.
That's, yeah.
Awful.
I see this all the time when people are trying to jam.
The rhythm [G] guy is _ just_
_ Wailing.
Yeah.
No.
And it's actually, that's a very egotistical [N] move when you say, hey, you want to jam, but
let's not jam together.
Yeah.
Exactly.
So you got to learn how to jam together.
Your favorite bands, they jam together.
So there is a little bit of like shedding your ego.
Exactly.
And learning how to jam.
So I'm going to be the rhythm guy.
The number one thing I'm going to do, I'm not going to do anything different except I'm
going to palm mute the guitar.
So if you've never palm muted anything before, I've got another video linking [G] to it.
But basically the idea is to take the side of your hand, which isn't really the palm.
Palm muting is kind of like the wrong name for this, I think.
Nobody palm mutes like this.
It's karate chopping.
Yeah, it's really, you're chopping the bridge of the guitar, keeping it there.
So if I'm going to play a G chord, _ _ _ _ _ instead of going_ _
Now maybe dynamically I can lead up to that.
You can lead up to the palm.
And if I'm lifting, you know.
Yeah.
But yeah, right now I'm just going to do the same thing.
I'm going to play the same chords on the key G.
I'm just going to heavily palm mute the chords [N] to kind of give this guy a little bit of shine.
And then that could take over, right?
Let's do it.
So here we go.
Two, [G] three, four. _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [Gm] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [Em] _ _ _
Oh!
_ Oh!
Keep it going.
[Am] Oh! _ _
_ _ [D] _ _ _ [G] Wow!
There we go.
Wow!
That scared me a little bit.
It's all about dynamics.
Yes.
You can still do your thing as a rhythm player.
Got to pull it back.
Yeah, exactly.
It's not about you.
It's like when you're married, it becomes about both of you.
It's about the jam.
About the jam. Yeah.
What would happen if Siegfried took over and was like, you know what?
Roy's been getting a little too much press.
I'm taking over.
One of them, we were bitten in the face.
A mauling.
It happened.
Look it up.
Wikipedia of it.
I just did, actually.
You literally just did. Yeah.
So that's tip number one.
Dynamics.
And I'm sure your dynamics, even if you're not good at palm muting it, just _ _ [Gm] bring [G] it
down a little bit, right?
[F] How about you bring it [Em] up?
Two. _ _ _ _ _
[G] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [Em] _ _ _ _ _
[B] Right?
It goes off a cliff real quick.
Yes.
Bring it down.
I tried to match it.
A complete player can play at any volume.
You can go loud if you need to.
You can bring it back if you need to.
It's true.
Palm muting as a rhythm guitar player is great.
If you're looking up videos on how to play guitar on YouTube, chances are that you have
friends and you're going to jam.
So take these tips, honestly, because they are necessary.
Okay?
It's your survival.
There we go.
All right.
Tip number two.
Know your role.
Yeah.
That's what it's all about, right?
Knowing your role, as in?
Somebody's got to be the rhythm player.
Somebody's got to be the lead player.
Now, you can trade off, but it's very important that from the get-go, the dominant lead player is established.
Yes.
And there actually is a foolproof way to find out what that dominant leader is.
I will say, there is a foolproof way, but we are the only purveyors of this.
There's a few.
We have to consult the John Petrucci handbook to find out which player-
Of guitar dominance.
Yeah, exactly.
The Petrucci handbook of dominance.
Please.
Let's find out who's playing lead.
_ _ Rule number 73.
The bigger the beard, solo.
_ _ Okay.
That's like one for me.
That's you.
Anything else?
Bylaws?
Yep.
If you have ever modded your own wah pedal, [N] _ solo.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ That's cool.
Oh yeah.
Okay, here we go.
_ _ _ Rule _ _ 172.
Ask the question, fresca or 50-50?
Whoever answers 50-50, _ solo.
So, Ian is right on all three accounts.
That means he'll be playing lead, and I'll be playing rhythm.
Dominance established.
Yeah.
Now, this is actually going to segue into tip number three, which is no surprises as the role.
You know, I'm a rhythm player, right?
Yeah, amen, man.
Yeah.
Maybe this has happened to you.
You're playing with a guy, and you kind of get a groove going on, and it's good, and
then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, key change with no _ warning.
Or even just chords that may go together but just take the guitar player away from what
he was doing.
Really, you've got to work together.
So we're going to do something with a key change, but I'm going to call it out, _ tastefully.
And not on the beat, too.
[G] It's not like you're playing a G. _ _
_ [Em] _ Key change to [Bb] B flat.
_ _ [Gm]
[E] Yeah, no, no, no.
You've got to let him know, right?
Let him know.
So I'm going to tastefully cue my lead player, who has established dominance, even though
I feel like there are more _ _ mature ways we could go about choosing a lead player.
So we're going to start in G, and then we're going to transition.
Awesome.
And even before we even begin.
Yeah.
Let's start in G, and then _ maybe do you want to switch?
Is there a key you're comfortable with?
I've always liked going up a minor third to the B flat.
That always sounds good.
Awesome.
Okay, cool.
So let's just start playing in G, and [G] then I'll let you know.
Cool.
One, two, three, four. _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [Gbm] _ _ [Bm] _
_ _ [Em] _ [Bm] _ _ _ _ [D] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
[G] G?
Hey, buddy.
I'm thinking about going to B flat in one, two, _ three, four, and [Bb] go to B flat.
_ _ Here we go, yeah. _
_ [Am] _ [Dm] _ _ _ _ _ _
[Bb] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Next G.
_ [G] And now!
[Gm] Oh! _
You're so funny.
Ah, yeah.
[F] I had a great time.
I had a great time, too.
One quick thing is, also, repeat your chord progression.
Yeah, right?
Repeat it.
Just let them have it.
Like, a nice palette.
Exactly.
I mean, maybe like a nice cheese platter when your friend comes over to shoot videos.
That would be nice, too, right?
It's all about the groove, is what it's about.
It's not about the cheese.
Let's not get into that.
Yeah, it's about just grooving.
Get [G] that loop going.
Whatever.
No one's in a rush.
No.
I've never been rushed at a jam.
It's like, listen, we've got to get out of here, man.
We've got two more times to round out this. _
It's not a battle of egos.
It's like, come on.
It's like, yeah, I get it.
Play nice together.
I get it.
You know a lot of chords.
Whatever.
There's so many times that I've been forced to jam with people who don't know how to jam
and it is so awkward.
Not only going in, but getting out.
So if you're going to jam with someone, set your expectations, know who's going to solo
first, be a good rhythm guitar player with dynamics and your chord progressions.
It is so important.
Music is not about who has the bigger guitar. Exactly.
It's about playing together.
By achieving a common goal.
Always chasing the tiger.
Always.
[N] _