It’s very important to be able to play rhythms in perfect time… yet many guitarists can’t do it.
When you get good at this, you quickly become a better rhythm guitarist and improve your musicianship.
Becoming a great rhythm guitarist requires just as much hard work as becoming a great lead guitarist.
Check out this video to see a demonstration of playing tight rhythm guitar:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dfy9wKKBiHw
One of the most important aspects of playing great rhythm guitar is playing in perfect time.
The following test helps you begin developing perfect timing in your rhythm guitar playing:
Rhythm Guitar Timing Test — Part 1
Step 1: Get out your metronome and set it to about 100 beats per minute.
Step 2: Choose any basic power chord and begin playing it once per beat over the click of the metronome.
Focus on making the click of the metronome disappear below the power chord.
If you’re ahead of or behind the beat this shows you that improvement is needed in your timing.
Step 3: Now pick a tempo ten to twenty beats faster and repeat the previous step. Play through the fast and slow tempos until you can consistently make the click disappear.
Rhythm Guitar Timing Test — Part 2
Step 1: Set a metronome to play at a moderate tempo.
Step 2: Instead of playing a chord, play a single note using 16th note rhythms (= 4 notes per beat).
As you play this note over the metronome, emphasize the beginning note of every beat by using a stronger pick attack to make it stand out.
As you did in the first part of this exercise, try to make the beat disappear underneath the note above it. When you use additional notes, it makes it more challenging to play with perfect timing.
Step 3: Pick a new speed to set your metronome for that is around 25 beats faster OR 25 beats slower than the previous setting.
Repeat step two while focusing on playing perfectly at this new setting. Note: challenge yourself to play with excellent timing at both fast and slow tempos.
Practicing the test above helps you develop good timing in your rhythm guitar playing. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Discover more ways to become a badass rhythm guitarist now by reading this article on metal rhythm guitar playing.
About The Author:
Tom Hess is a guitar teacher online, progressive rock guitarist/composer and a touring musician. He teaches guitar players in his rock guitar lessons online. Go to tomhess.net to get more guitar playing resources and follow him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.
