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  #1  
Old 10-30-2014, 04:39 PM
River Hill River Hill is offline
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Default Maintaining Rhythm

So I thought I was doing a pretty good maintaing rhythm on simple downstrokes, until I listened to a recording of myself. The recording did not lie and my rhythm is not what I thought it was.

Looking for some exercises, tips or suggestions on maintaining rhythm. The problem comes in during chord changes. I tend to hesitate between the change and that is throwing everything off.

I almost wish I would have never listened to the recording, but I know this is something that needs fixed and I have not been at this a long time, so I know there is hope
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Old 10-30-2014, 04:57 PM
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Leave a chord a bit early to reach the following chord on the beat. You can hang on to chords a bit longer with practice, but there will always be some time gap between chords no matter how much you practice.
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Old 10-30-2014, 06:29 PM
clintj clintj is offline
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Justinguitar has some good exercises to pick from.

I like practicing to a metronome, strumming one chord per beat at a really low speed that I can very easily match. Once you can do that smoothly, speed up a couple of clicks and so on.
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Old 10-30-2014, 07:18 PM
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Hitting the bass note only for the first beat (if it can be done in the context of the song) gives you a little more time to finger the rest of the chord. In time you will naturally get faster, but you can enjoy playing a song now with this method.
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Old 10-31-2014, 03:24 AM
hovishead hovishead is offline
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Play along with drum samples or use an electronic keyboard for a drum beat at first. Here's an online drum beat maker. http://www.rinki.net/pekka/monkey/.

Once that starts to feel better, use Transcribe http://www.seventhstring.com/ to slow down your favorite songs and play along with downstrokes (at first).

(Before doing any of this: work on practicing your chord changes (in pairs) everyday).
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Old 10-31-2014, 04:34 AM
JonPR JonPR is offline
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Agree with all the above. Just to repeat and expand...

1. Practice changing between pairs of chords, back and forth, over and over. No strumming, no rhythm, just moving your fret hand from one shape to the next and back.
(Remember your fingers are stupid : they need to be told stuff again and again and again. But with enough repetition they'll get it, and then they don't forget. They're amazingly adaptable tools; just a bit dumb... they need training.)
Think about alternative fingerings for some shapes, to help minimise finger movement across the neck. Some changes let you keep one finger in place, which acts like an anchor or pivot.

2. When playing a song, begin with one downstroke only, on the first beat of each chord. (Set a metronome at a speed where you can do this easily.) But get your right arm into the swing, down on every beat even if missing the strings.

3. When you can, add more downstrokes on beats. Eg in a 4/4 bar, strum down on 1 only first; then 1 and 3; then 1, 2 and 3.

4. Leave a chord early, in time to get the next one on the beat. Sometimes it doesn't even matter if you strum open strings while your fret hand is moving. (That will sound better than delaying the beat.)
Eg, you can lift your fingers after beat 3, strum beat 4 as open strings, and have your fingers down on the next chord when the next beat 1 arrives.
Obviously this is not something that will always work. Ideally you need a downstroke on beat 4 too, but you can usually lift straight after beat 4, and a following upstroke could be on open strings. This usually sounds fine.
The point is that the change doesn't need to be lightning fast; the crucial thing is to keep the rhythm going. The ear will forgive a few open strings in the gaps; it won't forgive a beat arriving late.

5. Go for the bass note of the next chord first. That leaves your other fingers a whole extra beat to catch up - if they need it. (Ideally, eventually, all your fingers will get there together. But it can still be a good stylistic alternative to hit bass note first.)

6. To practice strum patterns, mute all strings so you only have to think about the right hand, and your fret hand won't get sore holding one chord. Always down on the beat, always up between the beats - whether or not you contact the strings on each pass.
Watch rhythm guitarists; 99% of the time you never see that DUDUDUDU movement waver; and yet all kinds of strum patterns come out - because they're not hitting the strings every time, and they're applying different accents on some strokes, or only hitting a few of the strings. The critical thing is the constant movement, because that's how the rhythm stays solid. (It's one reason we traditionally use our dominant hand on the strumming, not on the frets.)
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Last edited by JonPR; 10-31-2014 at 04:43 AM.
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Old 10-31-2014, 04:36 AM
Bingoccc Bingoccc is offline
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http://www.gieson.com/Library/projec...ies/metronome/

This can be used online or downloaded to your computer for free. Sometimes I use it instead of my metronome.

Oh and.......... practice with a metronome
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Old 10-31-2014, 08:46 AM
Smitty70 Smitty70 is offline
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I had basically stopped playing altogether, gave my D35 Martin to my son and quit singing. Then I missed it all. Got a Taylor and started playing again. My timing was terrible. Not having anyone to play with, which BTW makes for bad timing IMHO, I started tuning into XM stations and playing along. I like Willie's House which does more simple old country tunes. I found that once I find the key, simple really, the next tune is in the same key. Don't know why but most of the time. I've even started to experiment with fills and turnarounds. If you have Dish or Direct tv you probably have XM serious radio.
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Old 10-31-2014, 10:24 AM
amyFB amyFB is offline
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metronome.

metronome.

metronome.

metronome.

over and over and over until the rhythm is embedded in your very soul.

if you can't play it to tempo, slow it down to where you can play it as desired.
burn it into your memory at the pace that produces desired results.

THEN, and only then , increase the tempo on the metronome - 1 or 2 beats per minute at a time,

rinse and repeat until you are up to tempo.

this is a time honored tactic that will work; it requires patience , endurance and repetition to succeed.

good luck!
yours in tune,
amyfb
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  #10  
Old 10-31-2014, 10:31 AM
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The metronome has it's place but in some cases it is like you telling a kid to do something, the kid asks why, and you say "because I say so". Reasons, methods, and tips can make it much more palatable.
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Old 10-31-2014, 10:57 AM
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A couple of tools that work for me.

Play along to music you like but get an app like Amazing Slow Downer to slow the music down so you can figure out the strumming or picking patterns and then develop proper timing.

If you strum a lot, try this Nate Savage exercise where you start at 60 bpm playing something like an Em chord (easy to fret). Start by playing all down stroke quarter notes (count 1-2-3-4), transition to D-U 1/8 notes (count 1-and-2-and-3-and-4-and), transition to 1/8 note triplets (count 1-eh-and-2-eh-and-3-eh-and-4-eh-and), and finally transition to 1/16th notes (count 1-eh-and-eh-2-eh-and-eh-3-eh-and-eh-4-eh-and-eh). I'm maxing at 80 bpm right now but really makes you focus on relaxing and strumming consistently. It's really helped me get more consistent.

Good Luck!
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Old 10-31-2014, 01:48 PM
jseth jseth is offline
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Some pretty good ideas already, but here's another one:

Just LET GO of getting it "right"... music isn't about perfect or right, there will always be lags and fits and starts and gaffes... it is a living breathing organic thing, so lighten up a little and don't take yourself so seriously...

I believe that working with a metronome at an extremely slow tempo (let me say that again, EXTREMELY S L O W tempo!) really helps to "set" our inner clock, our innate sense of time. I suggest that you strum whole notes, 1/2 notes, 1/4 notes, 1.8 notes, 1/4 note triplets, 16th notes... try to do each one perfectly at a very slow pace, let the process "seep into your soul"! Make it like a meditation, your sole focus is on that beat, that timing and playing to it...

Don't worry about "But I want to play faster"; what happens is that, as you allow the timing and rhythm to really sink in to your consciousness, your brain and body will naturally make the transition to whatever tempo you choose to play...

Keep in mind that there is a LOT of great music where the tempo "moves" slightly; slowing down or speeding up as the band plays... and a lot of that stuff is my favorite music ever...

Have fun with this! If you let yourself get all tied up about your timing, it will only get worse...
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Old 10-31-2014, 03:19 PM
pf400 pf400 is offline
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Surprised no one has recommended using a looper. Some come with a drum beat option. Metronomes are great. Start with a song you know really well.
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Old 11-01-2014, 06:08 AM
River Hill River Hill is offline
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Thank you all for your time and sharing your thoughts.

I have come to the conclusion I really need to focus on my chord shapes. I still need to think about the shape, how it is formed and what strings I am hitting. By the time I think about all of this I miss the beat.

I need to get to the point where the chord forms without thinking, if that makes sense. Making it happen naturally, with out all of the thinking. I need to spend time getting my fingers to move.

When I was much younger and played baseball, I will just step up to the plate and hit the ball without giving it much thought. When I was working with my coach on form and technique, it was much tougher making contact, but I was working on a routine. Soon the routine became natural, I would step up to the plate using my new skills, and make contact, unless the pitcher had a wicked curve.
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Old 11-01-2014, 08:44 AM
Laird_Williams Laird_Williams is offline
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That sounds great - but don't leave out the met. Failing to use one has you fighting against basic learning principals unnecessarily. Why do I say that?

In your original post, you noted that you failed to notice your rhythm issues until you played back a recording and listened to yourself. This is pretty normal - but there is a problem. What it means is that the feedback loop between error and correction is probably too long, and you are probably getting too many reps in doing things the "wrong" way (wrong being the way that YOU don't want to do them).

The key advantage of using a metronome (or some simple drum tracks) is IMMEDIATE feedback when you are getting into rhythmic/tempo difficulty, so you can correct immediately and not practice the wrong thing over an over. It is really hard to not hear when you and the met are out of whack, which is usually an indicator that YOU are out of whack. This enables you to take corrective action immediately. As in:
1) I seem to be slow on this change. Perhaps I should isolate it is master it and then try again (see other folk's tips above)
2) I can't keep up, maybe I should slow things down (see other folk's tips above)

The point is, those rhythmic issues can be detected and tips above applied to make corrections SOONER if you use a met. As a bonus, you won't spend as much time correcting things that aren't a problem too, since you can easily tell what is going right rhythmically also.

Practicing wrong repeatedly is BAD. It ingrains wrong so that wrong becomes "normal." Then fixing it is much more difficult. A SHORT feedback/correction cycle is the key to efficient learning. Use a met. It will make you learn FASTER. Yes - you can succeed without it, but it will take longer.
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