Rhythmic Ideas for Rock/Metal Chording

[blumonk]

Put your guitar down and try tapping out a rhythm with your finger on your table. And because we are talking about rock/metal here, try to make some of your taps off beat, rushed or delayed and some notes emphasized more than others. Once you come up with something worth repeating, and you have memorized it, record yourself tapping the beat. Then get your guitar out, pick any chord but do not play anything but that chord and try to play the rhythm you made on your guitar. Once you can do this effectively, try keeping the same rhythm, but adding in another chord....etc...

 

I often find that when I am trying to write music, if I have my guitar in my hands a lot of my ideas sound the same.

 

Does anyone else have any experience with this or any recommendations comments or follow ups? Thanks. Feel free to post your rhythms!

[dsimon665]

Those are good ideas...the off beat stuff is cool.

As far as keeping one chord w/ a static rhythm, then bringing in other chords - that's like the intro to Eye of the Beholder:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvP6vdUPdxU

I like those type of beats...1e&a 2e&a 3& 4e& pretty simple 16th note stuff but has a groove. Having a rhythm w/ lots of 16ths, then throw in a couple 8ths to break things up. Or throw in a couple 1-e-a (16ths w/ rest on the "and"). Also the reverse - having a mostly 8th note groove w/ some 16ths thrown in to break things up. Or, you have an 8th note groove, then all of a sudden a 16th note break, then back to the 8th note groove (disposable heros). I guess its part of the thrash style.

I think its like a lot of musical ideas - i.e. learning from the masters by practicing their stuff. There are so many subtle things with rhythm. Like using all downstrokes vs. alternate. Also w/ rock/metal, palm muting can paly a big part in the tone and might even be an essential element in some rhythms (Hetfield and EVH two that come to mind).

One interesting thing about EVH - he started out on drums. The intro to Mean Street is a paradiddle (like lrll rlrr). So that might bring some ideas - studying drums or just paying attention to rhythm sections.

[1001gear]

Do like composers. Set on an architectural scale, form, time frame, and start counting measures and plotting hooks.

[TheMirrorMan]

 

try to make some of your taps off beat

 

 

For the aforementioned, I recommend some Meshuggah or Tool; even Dream Theater(re?) for that matter.

[dsimon665]

Those bands are cool. They each have their own thing going on with respect to rhythm. I was reading about how DT makes a tempo map ("click track") when recording their songs. Petrucci said they are methodical about it and it might take a while, but its worth it for all the time shifts and odd time sigs they use. He also said something like "we don't sit there trying to make wierd time sigs ...we do it because it makes sense for the song and we're used to it."

With odd time sigs or odd rhythms, it sometimes helps to think in terms of 8th's. You can set the metronome for a beat every 8th note. It might be cheating but it can help to get the feel of some rhythms.

Another idea is to do groupings like 3 over 4. For example, I like the arpegeated section of Natural Science by Rush. It is in 4/4 with a grouping of 3+3+3+3+2+2 over 2 measures. It isn't as complicated as it sounds. Check it out at 1:47 of this vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G9e6kFy5-E

The next section of that vid at 2:48 is 7/8 with some 4/8 in there as well. Thats an example of if you're going to use a metronome you would consider putting it on 8'ths.

Another thing to try is to change the meter of a phrase. If it was in 4/4, try playing the same thing in 3/4. Some phrases are so natural in one time sig, and become like a tounge twister in another time sig.

Or you can do something like - if its a 16th note rhythm, try playing it in septuplets or vice versa. Bascially, experimenting with phrases between duple and triple meter.

[Dubb]

Regarding the tempo map, I read that the aforementioned band Tool does pretty much the same thing. I read an interview with Chino from Deftones where he talked about collaborating with Tool, and he said that in their studio space they had a big chart posted with the timing of each song on it.

 

Personally, I have a slight aversion to weird time signatures, especially shifting ones - I simply do not see the appeal. But there have been a few exceptions.