Working on Rhythm

[Scruffles]

If there's one thing that I find most guitarists neglect (other than phrasing and bending intonation), it's having good rhythm. Nobody picks up the guitar hoping to be able to play an A chord exactly once per second--it's not exactly glamourous--but it's important if you want to reach your potential. Here are some things you can do to help you with rhythm:

Always play with a metronome. The more you play with a metronome, the more you'll be able to play with a metronome. If you can't play with a metronome, you certainly can't play with a drummer, because frankly, metronomes inherently have better rhythm. If you sort of noodle all day with no metronome, you may help your finger strength and accuracy, but it will do nothing for your rhythm. Playing with a metronome, however, will force you to stay on the beat until it becomes natural. And don't be one of those guitarists that turns on a metronome only to completely ignore it and play something whose rhythm is completely unrelated to the metronome. If that happens and you really are trying to pay attention to the metronome, turn the volume of the metronome up. Playing with a metronome will also help you gauge your progress. Metronomes are great, simple as that. :cool:

In addition to just playing around with a metronome in the background, you can also set the metronome to a very slow tempo (perhaps start with 100 BPM and slowly decrease) and try to do something (hit a note, strum a chord, strum the muted strings, tap your foot, snap, etc.) on each quarter note. If you can do this at 40 BPM pretty well, I'd say your internal clock is in tip-top shape. Also, try hitting every eighth note, sixteenth note, triplet, etc. too. If you can go between rhythms (especially duplet and triplet rhythms), you're getting pretty good. Also try groups of five, seven, etc.

On the same note, try downloading Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/) and playing along to a click track. Record yourself, and you'll be able to see visually where you rushed or slowed down the beat.

Try playing along to a metronome and accenting every two notes, every three notes, every four notes, etc. Also try accenting none of the notes and keeping a completely straight rhythm. Try going between these as well.

Now, this is more of a test than an exercise, but you can also try setting a metronome, turning the volume off and looking away, and counting the beats. If you're within five beats after a hundred total, you're getting pretty good. Now, story time. I remember seeing a guitarist at NGW playing with a drum machine. The drum machine was connected to a spare guitar amp via a regular 1/4" cable, but the cable was kind of crappy. Eventually, the cable from the drum machine to the amp completely failed, and for about a minute, this guy was just playing to nothing (he kept going while somebody else tried to fix it). After it was plugged back in, the guy was perfectly on the beat, and because it was a drum machine with a complex beat, it eliminates the possibility that he just happened to land on a beat. Not exactly your Michael Batio-style guitar theatrics, but it's impressive to those that know enough about the difficulty of keeping rhythm.

There are many metronomes (http://www.americanmusical.com/sort--metronomes--m-2_48_355.html) to choose from, and while some are more complex than others, all they really need to do is keep a beat. My metronome is an incredibly simple Yamaha QT1 (http://www.music123.com/Yamaha-QT1-i18170.music) (I didn't pay that much for it), and it keeps the beat perfectly, and that's it. You can even use an online metronome such as Metronomeonline.com (http://www.metronomeonline.com/)'s. You can even be tricky and eliminate the ads (http://www.metronomeonline.com/flash/metronome.swf) :D.

While many guitarists get lost in the endless world of flashy techniques, they forget about the basics. Don't be one of them.

[RaisingCajun]

That is a very good tip! I would have never thought about using a metronome. Is there any specific one that you would recommend that is relatively inexpensive?

[Scruffles]

It really doesn't matter which one you get, as long as it works. The bare minimum for features is the ability to change tempo and volume, and perhaps a visual for each beat, like a flashing LED. If you're at your computer most of the time, you could save money and use the free metronome I linked to.

[RaisingCajun]

I will definately try the one that you linked to. Thanks!

[Millertime]

Thats a good lesson, i think a lot of people probably forget about rhythm as an important aspect of playing. After years of violin and piano lessons, i've gotten a solid sense of rhythm as far as playing along with the beat, but a metronome still helps me work on my timing on alternate picking and stuff (which is quite sub-par at the moment :o )

[Trey]

Also, set the metronome to beat only on the 2 and 4. This will force you to provide the 1 and 3, the strongest beats, and will make your timing even better. This is especially important for music with strong backbeats like Jazz, Blues and Reggae.

[at_r1sk]

not entirely guitar rated so trash this if you must.

The drummer I play with (I'm pretty sure) does not keep rythym well in certain parts of certain songs we play, but he wont play with a metronome cos he would never hear it. Any suggestions?

[Scruffles]

I think they make metronome headphones for drummers.

[:-o]

I don't understand how long a quater note (is it a crotchet or a quaver or something? ah primary school music) (or any other) is held for. Nor do I understand how to figure out your bpm. Or when the beat is in a song. Or how to figure out the timing of a song! Help please :)

[Scruffles]

Well, in music, the most common time signature, or rhythmic feel, is 4/4. The top number indicates how many beats are in a measure, and the bottom number indicates the duration of the said beats. In 4/4, there are four quarter notes in a measure, so it's counted as "one two three four". The time signature 3/4 has three quarter notes in a measure, and 6/8 has six eighth notes in a measure.

There are two half notes in a whole note, two quarter notes in a half note, two eighth notes in a quarter note, and so on. If you're playing along to a metronome, you'll usually think of each click as a quarter note.

And you should be able to feel where the beat is in a song. There's no real quantitative formula for that. If you mean how to figure out the time signature of a song, it's just as simple as counting. A song like "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" is counted "one two three one two three", so it's in 3/4. A song like "Jingle Bells" is counted "one two three four one two three four", so it's in 4/4.

To figure out your NPS (notes per second, not BPM, or beats per minute), you just play along to a metronome. The formula is (notes per beat) x (BPM) / 60. So if you're playing sixteenth notes, or four notes per beat, at 150 BPM, 4 x 150 = 600, divided by 60 = 10 NPS. It's easiest to do a sextuplet pattern, because then you can just divide the BPM by ten, as 6 x (BPM) / 60 can be rewritten as BPM / 10. Sextuplets at 142 BPM would be 14.2 NPS.

[Noctambulant89]

speaking of the importance of a metronome, can anyone recommend a good metronome that can get fairly loud, with my metronome, there is no volume control on it except on and off. when its on, i have to play super quiet on my amp in order to hear it, and i tried putting my headphones into the output jack but i get no volume..


time for a new metronome i supose.. any good ones out there? it is possible to get one as a stomp box and just play it through an amp so having it to quiet would not be an issue...

[TzarCazm]

You can also do it without a metronom; just go out for a walk and while your walkin, pat your thighs with your hands, in time with your walkin. the rhythm sense sinks in so its not just mental but you can actuly feel it.

and just about everybody, when tyey're walkin, has rhythm. ;)

[Scruffles]

speaking of the importance of a metronome, can anyone recommend a good metronome that can get fairly loud, with my metronome, there is no volume control on it except on and off. when its on, i have to play super quiet on my amp in order to hear it, and i tried putting my headphones into the output jack but i get no volume..


time for a new metronome i supose.. any good ones out there? it is possible to get one as a stomp box and just play it through an amp so having it to quiet would not be an issue...

Any metronome with a volume control should work, man.

[AtomicManiac]

I have trouble keeping timing when doing something other than quarter notes on a metronome, so I set-up a Guitar Pro file to play 8 measures of quarter notes, 8 measures of eigth notes, and I just play using that. Is this a good alternative or should I learn the beat with a metronome?

[Scruffles]

Well, it can be helpful to use a tablature program to let you know exactly how certain rhythms will sound, but ultimately, the goal should be to be able to play any rhythm with just a metronome.

[Mordrida]

You could even use a clock with a second hand on it. This is what i do sometimes so i have something visual to look at. Cause my Metronome doesnt have a blinking LED.


BPM is just that....a normal clock with a second hand moves at 60 BPM.

You want to play at 120 BPM...just do 2 notes per second etc. and so forth.

Of course it makes it simpler for odd timings to use a metronome...kinda hard to break up say 132 BPM on a clock face.

I suppose you could use a stopwatch that has smaller increments of time to break it up.

I am just rambling now... :)

Mord

[Ludd]

This is all good advice. Though I have to say I've had nothing but bad experiences with Audacity. It crashes constantly. I'm sure it would be fine if you were just using the click track and maybe recording one track (maybe) but anything beyond that seems pretty shakey. Just my opinion. I bought Cakewalk recently and I think it runs a lot smoother. (Though more expensive.)

[GCM]

Yes!!! That is so right!! Back to basics, ignore all the flash cause it doesn't help one of the two basics of music. Jimi Hendrix told us this a long time ago but most of us never listened XO!!!

Oh, sorry. Anyways, anyone got any tips or help on blues shuffle rhythm? I can never seem to hit those "and"s.

[PaleRider]

Talking about a metronome... if you download Power Tab - you can set the metronome on each song and change the timing and the bpm...

( Just a suggestion)

[I_cant_play]

Very good post. I think a lack of a sense of rhythm is why so many newer artists (even some very recognized ones) sound like crap to my ear. I think Santana is a good one to look at for interesting time signatures and a great sense of timing.

oh and "we wish you a merry christmas" is in 4/4 time not 3/4. The "we" is the offbeat before the 1 beat and the "wish" falls on the first beat.

[Scruffles]

Very good post. I think a lack of a sense of rhythm is why so many newer artists (even some very recognized ones) sound like crap to my ear. I think Santana is a good one to look at for interesting time signatures and a great sense of timing.

oh and "we wish you a merry christmas" is in 4/4 time not 3/4. The "we" is the offbeat before the 1 beat and the "wish" falls on the first beat.

It's in three. Re-listen.

[I_cant_play]

We wish(1) you a merry christ(2)-mas we wish(3) you a merry christ(4)-mas we wish(1) you a merry christ(2)-mas and a ha(3)-ppy new year(4).

sing these lines and tap your foot on the syllable before the beat number. It's 4 you'll see..

[Scruffles]

We wish(1) you a merry christ(2)-mas we wish(3) you a merry christ(4)-mas we wish(1) you a merry christ(2)-mas and a ha(3)-ppy new year(4).

sing these lines and tap your foot on the syllable before the beat number. It's 4 you'll see..

Actually (http://gardenofpraise.com/key21j.htm). . .

[I_cant_play]

I stand corrected.

It seems I was counting bars not beats...:o

[Scruffles]

Happens sometimes.

[Beginner]

Well, in music, the most common time signature, or rhythmic feel, is 4/4. The top number indicates how many beats are in a measure, and the bottom number indicates the duration of the said beats. In 4/4, there are four quarter notes in a measure, so it's counted as "one two three four". The time signature 3/4 has three quarter notes in a measure, and 6/8 has six eighth notes in a measure.

There are two half notes in a whole note, two quarter notes in a half note, two eighth notes in a quarter note, and so on. If you're playing along to a metronome, you'll usually think of each click as a quarter note.

And you should be able to feel where the beat is in a song. There's no real quantitative formula for that. If you mean how to figure out the time signature of a song, it's just as simple as counting. A song like "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" is counted "one two three one two three", so it's in 3/4. A song like "Jingle Bells" is counted "one two three four one two three four", so it's in 4/4.

To figure out your NPS (notes per second, not BPM, or beats per minute), you just play along to a metronome. The formula is (notes per beat) x (BPM) / 60. So if you're playing sixteenth notes, or four notes per beat, at 150 BPM, 4 x 150 = 600, divided by 60 = 10 NPS. It's easiest to do a sextuplet pattern, because then you can just divide the BPM by ten, as 6 x (BPM) / 60 can be rewritten as BPM / 10. Sextuplets at 142 BPM would be 14.2 NPS.

To tell the truth, I've been working on my rythm lately. Most of the time I play fast songs and I have difficulty playing the slower ones. 40BPM for me is very slow beat- reminds me of playing some hymn songs during Christmas. I'm ok at 4/4 & 3/4 beat but can get messed up at 6/8 and the more ones (I don't have basic music theory for everyone's info)

Any suggestions for me to improve? I don't play metronome, mostly depend on the drummer, bass or the piano to provide the beat. :cry:

[Beginner]

To tell the truth, I've been working on my rythm lately. Most of the time I play fast songs and I have difficulty playing the slower ones. 40BPM for me is very slow beat- reminds me of playing some hymn songs during Christmas. I'm ok at 4/4 & 3/4 beat but can get messed up at 6/8 and the more ones (I don't have basic music theory for everyone's info)

Any suggestions for me to improve? I don't play metronome, mostly depend on the drummer, bass or the piano to provide the beat. :cry:

Oops, no QUESTIONS ya..sorry..:cry:

[hugeknot]

For those of you practicing with a metronome now... try practicing slightly before the beat and then slightly after the beat. This will really tighten up the internal clock.

Psychologists have looked into the subject of time perception and found that timing is more acurate if more body parts are involved. For example, someone tapping with one finger is likely to be less acurate than someone tapping with both hands, both feet and nodding their head. I think this is why drummers make such good reference points when it comes to tempo.

[diatonick]

This is the best thread I have ever found in forums. Very good advice and content. Thanks Buddy,

-diatonick