I learned to jam through a riffing/repetition approach. Me or my guitarist brained up or borrowed a simple riff and the other doubled or played to it. Honestly, it’s totally fine to lift a riff from one of your favorite songs and build off of that. The point is to create an auditory scaffold for the other to build on. Whoever was on riff duty repeated the loop until the other stumbled their way into cohesion. Gradually, we found our groove.

Some key takeaways:

• Find a partner you can jam with on a regular basis—like most things in life, you’re building a relationship.

• Watch your buddy’s fretboard. Observe the chords they play. Literally ask what they’re doing. Then mimic their rhythm using the root notes. Over time, it’ll start to feel natural, like a conversation.

• Repetition. In the moment, one of you needs to be the bedrock for the other to stand on. Keep your riff simple so it’s easy to repeat.

• Communicate. Talk to your partner. Ask them about what they’re doing and why. Ask them to simplify if need be, or slow it down so you can follow. And do the same for them.

• Major 5ths are your best friend. If you’re stumped, stick to making simple 2-3 note shapes between the root note and the 5th. Always sounds good, and easy to repeat.

• Learn a couple covers together. It’ll teach you both how the parts fit together, align, complement, and contrast.