The Importance of RhythmThis lesson will cover the importance of rhythm. Being able to keep time is essential for the musician; especially if you are interested in playing with a band someday. No one will be excited about having you as part of their group if you can't feel the beat or keep time with the music! At some point in your life you have probably experienced tapping your foot to a song you were listening to. Without realizing it, you were feeling the rhythm of the music and counting beats. Music is primarily an intuitive experience and it's important to realize that this internal, intuitive process precedes the WRITTEN form. Whenever a composition or song is created, it's origin begins within the artist. The composer may decide to notate their music as a way of remembering or sharing it with others. Notes and rests are common symbols used to describe a duration of time in written notation. Musical time is measured with beats. This is how the rhythm is established. It's not necessary to read music in order to play the guitar, but understanding note values can help you acquire a better rhythmic feel. Each of the following note symbols has a name related to the number of beats it receives: 
Whole Note - receives 4 beats.
Half Note - receives 2 beats.
Quarter Note - receives 1 beat.
Eighth Note - receives 1/2 a beat.The notes are placed on five horizontal lines called a staff. Two vertical bar lines define the space in between known as a measure.
Because we are using four beats to a measure we can replace the quarter notes with either two half-notes or one whole note. Continuing with our analogy of money, a half-note 4 quarters = 4 beats It all adds up the same! Below is an example of tablature and notation combined. The notes are written on the five lines of a staff. There are four quarter notes in each measure, so be sure to count 1 2 3 4 in all four measures. The six lines of the tablature represent the six strings of the guitar. The bottom line equals the low sixth string, the top line equals the first string. The numbers on the lines represent the fret you will play. Use the 1st finger when playing the first fret, 2nd finger, second fret, 3rd finger, third fret, and 4th finger, fourth fret. 
From this scale we can make an A Minor Chord... Chords are simply a combination of 3 or more tones (or notes) played simultaneously. All chords are built from scales. Exercise: 1. Play the A minor scale while counting a rhythm of 4 beats per measure. 2. Strum the A minor chord and be sure to let the sound continue as you count the 4 beats of a whole note. 3. Try to hear the tonal relationship between the scale and the chord. LESSON OBJECTIVE: To understand how to count a common 4 beat rhythm using the tablature, and basic note values described in this lesson. PRACTICE: 1. Play the A minor scale forward and backward everyday, using whole notes, half-notes and quarter notes. 2. Play through all the note values while strumming an Am chord. LEARN MORE: Rhythm - Getting It Down Cold... |
