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  #1  
Old 11-13-2018, 05:41 AM
reskew8756 reskew8756 is offline
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Default timing help

I am a worship leader and have been playing guitar for a little over 15 years and love my Taylor 714BCE and my T5 as well...I also have a Tacoma J18, a Gibson Les Paul, a Strat and a bass and a couple other 6 strings... I'm also new to this forum and hope I'm not asking a question that is 'too elementary'...I've always had a timing issue. I sing as well as play and when I started leading, I would more or less strum to my singing phrases...I've pretty much gotten beyond that, but still have an issue with different beats, ie; 3/4, 4/4, 6/8, etc...especially when moving from a song with one beat to a song with a different beat...most of the time I can hear the song in my head, but I believe I need to hear the beat, not the song...
all that to ask...is there a practice routine I can use to overcome this...folks are gracious and pick me up when I have these issues during worship, but I need to be beyond this...help is greatly appreciated!
rusty
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Old 11-13-2018, 10:51 AM
tonyo tonyo is offline
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Practice with a metronome. There are plenty available as smart phone apps. Recently I bought a Boss DR-01 drum thingy which is more enjoyable to play along to as compared to a metronome. It's picking me up on many places where I speed up just a little to squeeze in the challenging lyrics.
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Old 11-13-2018, 10:52 AM
tonyo tonyo is offline
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It means you play to the beat, not to your mental idea of the song.
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Old 11-13-2018, 11:42 AM
Gordon Currie Gordon Currie is offline
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Do you tap your foot while playing?

In my experience the people who struggle the most with rhythms NEVER tap their foot - and the converse is true as well.

Playing and singing lines that may be in different phrasing can be extremely challenging. Make it easier by using your portable metronome!
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Old 11-13-2018, 01:40 PM
reeve21 reeve21 is offline
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Rusty,

Take this with a grain of salt, as I can barely play a guitar, let alone teach it

I will second Gordon's suggestion of tapping your foot, and even move your head and the rest of body while you are at it. Check out some videos of Tommy Emmanuel or Eric Skye, who posts here. Google Eric's 30 day guitar challenge, I think you will find some stuff on "groove" which is what you are after.

When I'm really struggling with timing on something new I count each beat, out loud. Depending on the tune I will add an "and" on the second eight note of a beat, or even divide it up further. I learned to do this as a kid playing a horn, so I had to do it in my head, not out loud. I think you could probably do it while singing, too.

My band director used "Mississippi" to count 16th notes, and "melody" for triplets.

I will often find myself rushing when learning the intricate parts of a new piece. I also use a metronome as often as I can stand it (try it very, very slowly and gradually increase the speed)-- but eventually you will want to turn it off. Tapping your foot and moving other areas, and counting (out loud at first, then in your head) should help you internalize the beat in both your body and your brain.

I have to constantly remind myself to do these things while learning a new piece. When I have it down it seems to happen naturally.

Hope this helps.
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Old 12-24-2018, 06:15 AM
T1mothy T1mothy is offline
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Practice with metronome but let it beat only to one beat of the measure. You should practice and strive to play a piece of music with the metronome beating on whichever beat. In 4/4 practice it first with metronome on all 4 beats, then 1 and 3, then 2 and 4, then 1, then 3, then 2, then 4. Do the same with other time signatures you may wish to be able to play in freely. That way you have to keep the time internally more because there isn`t a drummer or whoever else keeping you in check. Good luck :-)
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Old 12-24-2018, 01:09 PM
Brent Hahn Brent Hahn is offline
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You might try to find a local teacher to help you address this issue. But you need to be specific about the issue you want to address. The right person might be a drummer, not a guitarist. I think you might get further faster that way.
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Old 12-25-2018, 08:43 AM
Golffishny Golffishny is offline
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I also learned to tap my foot way back when I knew nothing of metronomes. A metronome is good along with foot tapping. Without the tapping you're still listening for the beat. The tapping keeps you physically involved.
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