Improve your rhythm while working towards mastering an important shape on the guitar neck. This lesson looks at many different permutations of triplet & quarter note rhythms and demonstrates how to apply rhythms to scale/arpeggio/chord patterns.
One sure way to improve at the guitar is to practice rhythm in an intentional and focused way. To improve your rhythm you need to pay careful attention to it when you practice. The habits that you build during practice carry over into your playing, especially any habits that have been sustained for a long period of time. So make it your new habit (if it isn’t already a habit for you) to practice everything with a special focus on your rhythm.
More specifically focus on where you place the note in the beat. Play with a metronome, and really listen to the metronome as you practice any pattern. You’ll start to hear yourself playing faster or slower, dragging some notes and rushing others. Pay attention to this. Try to place your notes in the dead center of each beat, and to be as precise as you can.
Practice slowly and as perfectly in-time as you can. Go slower than you think you need to. Ever so gradually build up your speed with precision in your rhythm.
Use the book I suggested in this video to come up with rhythms to practice on. The book is titled “Progressive Steps To Syncopation For The Modern Drummer” by Ted Reed. It’s a classic, and a rich well of rhythmic ideas. Just as I do in the video, take the rhythms off of any page and apply them to a scale or arpeggio pattern that you want to master.
Do it with the metronome, slowly. It will bear fruit for you, I promise you that. Improving your rhythm is the most beneficial thing you can do to make your playing sound better.
Want to improvise better? Improve your rhythm. Want to play chords better? Improve your rhythm. Want to just sound better when you play? Yeah, you guessed it. Rhythm.
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