Trouble keeping the same rhythm for an entire song 😞

[gfirob]

I decided to work on my tempo issues during covid and got a drum pedal (a Beat Buddy). I tried a metronome and just found it tiresome and not helpful. After covid and we started playing together again, band mates noticed my improvement. A simple drum pedal is much more fun to play with than a metronome in my opinion.

[nowgypsy]

While I seem to have good rhythm, it is not something that I have worked on. It just seems to be there. That said I have not danced since I was 13.

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by Chas007

No I have not used a metronome yet. I have tried one, but it seems to make the playing boring, or maybe its just me. I can get the rhythm going but can't seem to keep it going for the whole song through my clunky chord changes. Yes, I have a lot of problems. I may have to take up drinking again. At least then I'll think I sound good ��.

Seriously though, thinking about my lack of rhythm got me to wondering are there any of you that can play but can't dance? Because being able to play good rhythm guitar seems like you should be able to dance also.

I've read the answers to date, but I'm wondering if it is about rhythm, or tempo (time-keeping) that is the problem ???

Metronomes are regulators of tempo but not rhythm.

Rhythm is often intrinsic, and a matter of accent within the 3/4, 4/4 or 6/8, or whatever.

With a 4/4 time signature, European music was usually (no, not always) accented on the 1 & 3, kinda like marches.

American popular music is typically on the 2 & 4 (think swing), although James Brown's dynamic sounds was mostly on the 1.

So is the problem about speeding up/slowing down, or losing count, or accents?

i might be able to help. PM me if interested.

[min7b5]

Originally Posted by Chas007

No I have not used a metronome yet. I have tried one, but it seems to make the playing boring, or maybe its just me. I can get the rhythm going but can't seem to keep it going...

For what it's worth, as a full-time player that's played for almost fifty years, I still rarely practice without a metronome. Sometimes I might just use my foot.. but I'm almost never just working on notes in practice. I would make friends with the click, and eventually you'll love playing around with time the same way you enjoy playing with just pitches ...and people will notice.

Drum loops can be fun and helpful too, but I recommend working with a straight click most of the time. And when you're ready, try to get it on the "two and four" so it's helping you a lot less, and more importantly, helping you achieve a great feel to your groove. I made a video on this a few years ago here: https://youtu.be/sWOa0vfv5FY

[phavriluk]

This is a topic that would benefit OP greatly if a skilled teacher was offering some insight and guidace. Real, live, teachers are much more able to offer helpful comments and analysis in person. Just about everybody stalls somewhere.

[Scuzzo]

The only thing you can do is practice,, the chord changes willl become more easy,, and once that happens you can get it down to where you can find the pocket and either lay back on the beat or really push it by staying just a bit ahead.. and there is all the partial chording and accent stuff.. but first come betting use to chord changes.. not sure about a metronome.. I just used a drum track to help my timing.... same idea.

[YamahaGuy]

For the record, I can't dance. Or play drums. But, my drummer from my band says I have great rhythm playing [strumming] the guitar. Where I struggle is to play fingerstyle the whole song and/or transition from fingerstyle to strumming and back AND maintaining tempo. Another thing I see all the time is when playing loader, often times people will play faster. I regularly practice this with my band trying to play way louder and maintaining tempo. It's a fun exercise.

[phavriluk]

Scuzzo's right, says me. Practice not till you get something right, practice till you can't do something wrong. This takes WAY longer than we plan, and it's boring and wearying. Malcolm Gladwell is right.

[Mandobart]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

I've read the answers to date, but I'm wondering if it is about rhythm, or tempo (time-keeping) that is the problem ???

So is the problem about speeding up/slowing down, or losing count, or accents?

Most people who don't regularly play with others (which is most AGF'ers, who play only alone) tend to skip the rests between words in a lyric, and especially at the end of a measure. This usually leads to speeding up.

[Andyrondack]

Originally Posted by Chas007

No I have not used a metronome yet. I have tried one, but it seems to make the playing boring, or maybe its just me. I can get the rhythm going but can't seem to keep it going for the whole song through my clunky chord changes. Yes, I have a lot of problems. I may have to take up drinking again. At least then I'll think I sound good 🙂.

Seriously though, thinking about my lack of rhythm got me to wondering are there any of you that can play but can't dance? Because being able to play good rhythm guitar seems like you should be able to dance also.

Metronomes are not meant to be rhythmically inspiring they just keep a steady beat to a given time signature, you are not meant to copy it , that steady beat is just there to help you keep the correct number of beats for the time signature and to keep to a constant speed.
If improvising you have to use your creativity to overlay an interesting rythmn over the metronome's steady beat. So you might set a metronome to 4/4 but that's the time signature not a rythmn, the metronome will be programmed to click on each quarter note but you can make up an endless variety of rhythms to play over those 4 quarter notes. It's not the metronome making your playing boring it's you.
If you can't do that then play along to a recording of music which interests you for it's rythmn or look for something that's more like a drum machine than a metronome.
If you can't change chords smoothly then slow things down to whatever speed you can manage then slowly increase the speed , maybe over several weeks if necessary.
Use the metronome to improve your chord changes, start by changing chord on the 1st accented beat of each bar, then two changes per bar if playing in 4/4 then finally train yourself to change chord on every beat and set the metronome to a speed slow enough to do that.
Until you can change chords smoothly trying out different rythmns is just a waste of time.

[rick-slo]

Originally Posted by Chas007

No I have not used a metronome yet. I have tried one, but it seems to make the playing boring, or maybe its just me. I can get the rhythm going but can't seem to keep it going for the whole song through my clunky chord changes. Yes, I have a lot of problems. I may have to take up drinking again. At least then I'll think I sound good ��.

Seriously though, thinking about my lack of rhythm got me to wondering are there any of you that can play but can't dance? Because being able to play good rhythm guitar seems like you should be able to dance also.

Rhythm or tempo? They are a bit different in meaning. Both are better controlled with a bit of anticipation of what you need to be playing a few
notes from where you are currently. Usually just playing a piece enough times to where your motor memory of chord changes, etc. is solid allows
easier mental anticipation of what is next.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Chas007

No I have not used a metronome yet. I have tried one, but it seems to make the playing boring, or maybe its just me. I can get the rhythm going but can't seem to keep it going for the whole song through my clunky chord changes. Yes, I have a lot of problems. I may have to take up drinking again. At least then I'll think I sound good 🙂.

Seriously though, thinking about my lack of rhythm got me to wondering are there any of you that can play but can't dance? Because being able to play good rhythm guitar seems like you should be able to dance also.

Hi Chas
Early on (50some years back) I started playing regularly with a friend. We got together at one of our houses and just played for an hour or so. And we started looking for people to play for (as amateur as we were).

Did more for our playing than any metronome I own (and I own several).

[Robin, Wales]

Originally Posted by Chas007

...Seriously though, thinking about my lack of rhythm got me to wondering are there any of you that can play but can't dance? Because being able to play good rhythm guitar seems like you should be able to dance also.

I can't dance! I can sure lay down a good rhythm on guitar though.

Both are skills - both can be learnt. I have just put zero time into learning to dance!

Playing guitar is a skill - and as such it has lots of fundamental building blocks that need to be learnt. Understanding rhythm is one of them. Switch the radio on to any music station and clap along to the tune that's playing, then switch to another tune, then another, then another. Have the radio on in the background when driving or doing the washing up. Tap your feet along to the music. It is how kids learn rhythm, and it is a building block for guitar playing. If that block is weak for you, then practice it and you will strengthen it.

Hearing the guitar is a skill - No, I really mean that! Hearing your own playing is a skill. Much of the time we are "in our heads" thinking about where we are going next (the next chord change etc) and so we fail to listen to our guitar in real time. We hear the tune in our head, not what's actually being produced by our hands!!! The metronome is a fix for this. Using a metronome forces us to listen to the sound our guitar produces and match it rhythmically to another sound. It is not easy to do at first because to listen to our guitars is quite alien if we have been "hearing" the song we are playing in our head. Ideally, you need to be able to do both at the same time. It is a skill; it needs practice. Expect to struggle. Success comes from perseverance.

Chas, I doubt that you have any physical or mental blockers to being able to lay down a rhythm in time and change chords in time and even sing across that rhythm in time. You just lack the skills. It may be a good time to have someone look at your playing and give you a few pointers.

And as LJ points out, playing with others is better than any metronome. It does the same fundamental job of forcing you to listen to your own guitar's output while matching it rhythmically to another sound source. Plus it is a lot more fun!!!

[Andyrondack]

Originally Posted by Robin, Wales

I can't dance! I can sure lay down a good rhythm on guitar though.

Both are skills - both can be learnt. I have just put zero time into learning to dance!
!

No I don't agree with this. On many occasions I have seen children under the age of 7 dancing very well, they don't practice it's just natural for them, there is quite clearly something intrinsic wired into the brain regarding rhythm. Their movements are loose and fluid and they respond naturally to the rhythm.
But the kids natural dancing ability just does not last, once they get an idea into their heads about what dancing is supposed to look like and stop focusing on what it feels like then it all goes to pot and they just look like their trying to show off, which they are.
Music makes brains want to move, adult humans might be too embarrassed to give in to the urge but this bird isn't.

I don't think Snowball would have any problems playing rhythm guitar if he just had some hands.

[Robin, Wales]

Originally Posted by Andyrondack

No I don't agree with this. On many occasions I have seen children under the age of 7 dancing very well, they don't practice it's just natural for them, there is quite clearly something intrinsic wired into the brain regarding rhythm. Their movements are loose and fluid and they respond naturally to the rhythm.
But the kids natural dancing ability just does not last, once they get an idea into their heads about what dancing is supposed to look like and stop focusing on what it feels like then it all goes to pot and they just look like their trying to show off, which they are.
Music makes brains want to move, adult humans might be too embarrassed to give in to the urge but this bird isn't.

I don't think Snowball would have any problems playing rhythm guitar if he just had some hands.

I can see where you are coming from, but I was thinking more along the lines of "formal" dancing. I can't waltz, or do the foxtrot, or the tango, or ballet or break dance etc. But I expect that if I put the time in then I could learn (at least as far as my aging body would take me anyway!). The "innate" learning preference towards something athletic/musical/mathematical/linguistic etc is a factor for everything in life. Some folks will find some things easier to pick up than others.

In the OP's case I would expect that not being able to dance as an adult has as much to do with opportunity and self-selection as any innate ability. And there is quite probably not a direct correlation between the OPs ability to dance and their ability to play the same rhythm on acoustic guitar for an entire song. I would expect that you could fix one without having to fix the other. On the other hand, perhaps dancing lessons could be the solution to their guitar playing conundrum!