This module follows on from eighth note rhythms and rhythm words, and if you aren’t too clear on that, go and recap it before returning here. You want to be able to swap between any eighth note rhythm words at 120bpm with muted strings as the criteria for knowing them well enough to move on.
Now that you have completed the introduction to rhythm for guitarists, you have a good foundation established. You understand that for strumming, there’s a gesture that correlates to any part of the beat where we might want to create sound, and if you train your physical coordination, you can be completely consistent in targeting the exact point in the bar that you mean to, accurately.
This is at the heart of what makes music sound and feel good. It is the single most important attribute of music. In terms of the cognitive apparatus with which we perceive music, it is the rhythm that helps establish musical ‘meaning’ at brain level. A non-expert audience will enjoy a song with two chords played in a groovy way much more than a song with many notes and chords that have poor rhythmic architecture.
Here is a breakdown of some of the ways in which we draw on our rhythm skills and the areas in which this module will help you develop them.
