How do you practice for rhythm guitar?

[Ides of March]

I know there are tons of lessons for lead guitar work, but for a primarily rhythm guitarist what do you guys do to practice. Learn challenging covers? Learn new chords daily. I mean I know you should always work on technique but if your not planning on playing lead that much with a band, why focus on things you are not going to use, like tapping, or scales, or hammer ons and pull off's, trills and what not. I guess some of that applies to rhythm.

[jeremy_green]

Mostly rhythm is about timing... Seems obvious to say but you really need to learn to stick it right in the spot. Play rhythmic patterns with a drum loop or metronome, record yourself and listen back. A great way to do it is if you have cubase or some other recording software. Put the drum part on one track and record the guitar on its own track. Then you can SEE if your accents are lining up with the drum wave.

 

Good rhythm has a lot to do with accents. Place your strong beats with a little more oomph. Obviously learn a lot of rhythm patterns and practice with them. Do funk stuff like James Brown, do some country, blues all of it really. Learn all the different ways to express a beat. Flamenco is also killer for rhythm and educates your playing.

 

Focus and attention to detail is key. So is learning different grips on all your chords all over the neck.

[benzem]

Play with others

[c+t in b]

by playing and singing rhythms.

 

learn how to read. it's pretty clear by your question that you can't read. so learn how to do that first.

 

then learn how to subdivide rhythms properly and start sight reading

[arrowhen]

 

Put the drum part on one track and record the guitar on its own track. Then you can SEE if your accents are lining up with the drum wave.

 

 

Yeah, definitely do that. And then record that same rhythm part a second time an a separate track, pan one hard left and one hard right and listen to them on headphones. Any variations in your accents will be glaringly apparent.

[DCurtis]

Over the years, practicing *everything* with a metronome

has helped me immensely. And not just using the metronome

to count on the beats of the measure, but putting the metronome

on beats one and three, or on beats two and four.

 

And then there is the clapping along with the metronome,

and putting the clapping squarely in the middle of the beat

so the click of the metronome disappears. It's *MUCH* harder

than it sounds, and takes a long time before you can keep it

going for more than a beat or two at a time.

[Gaetano Paul]

 

Over the years, practicing *everything* with a metronome has helped me immensely. And not just using the metronome to count on the beats of the measure, but putting the metronome on beats one and three, or on beats two and four. And then there is the clapping along with the metronome, and putting the clapping squarely in the middle of the beat so the click of the metronome disappears. It's *MUCH* harder than it sounds, and takes a long time before you can keep it going for more than a beat or two at a time.

 

 

Yup, metronome is the key!

[dvuksanovich]

Put down the guitar and learn the rhythms vocally or by tapping them out first. Slow your metronome waaaaaaaaaaaay down if you have to. Then pick the guitar back up.

[chevybusa]

As others have already said, ALWAYS play with a metronome and definitely play along with pre-recorded drum tracks/loops.

[Jeff Williams]

Definitely play with a drum machine. Try easy patterns with one chord, then adds chords to the progression, then add more complex rhythms. Record yourself and listen back.