Practicing Rhythm
Do It Daily
Successful musicianship begins with a daily practice schedule. The goal of practice is to increase fluidity and make playing skills second nature. Practice of new skills and knowledge should be immediate and repetitive, otherwise you'll forget what you learned.
How much time should you practice? Start with thirty minutes of daily practice. If you need to practice longer, divide your practice time into several short sessions.
Practice Plan
Once committed to daily practice, formulate a practice plan and goals. Nothing elaborate, just things to work on in each session. For example, you have five things to work on at this point:
- Memorizing new music symbols and chords
- Forming correct sitting and hand positions
- Exercise 1, Plucking Strings
- Exercise 2, Thumb Strum
- Exercise 3, G Major Scale (TAB)
- Exercise 4, Strumming Chords
- Da Beat Thing exercises (see below)
Here are practice goal suggestions: play the scale, strum and rhythm exercises smoothly, and know the symbols, chords and technique by heart.
Avoid Distractions
Set aside time to work through your practice routine without interruption. Don't do other things like gaming or scrolling through social media. Devote your full attention to playing guitar.
Be Critical and Spot Practice
Listen critically to your playing and make changes to improve. For example, if chord transitions are not smooth, ask yourself why. Are you spending too much time deciphering chord diagrams because you didn't memorize them? Perhaps you are staggering finger placement instead of placing all the fingers down at the same time? Once you understand the problem, spot practice that area slowly so you can work in the improvements. Increase tempo after technical issues are resolved. This approach accelerates improvement and, ultimately, enjoyment of playing.
Using Audio Tracks
All music in this textbook has an audio track and/or video to help you learn. Here's how to get the most from audio tracks:
- Study the lesson text and learn the new notes and techniques.
- Listen to the track to help form practice goals.
- Practice the piece until smooth.
- Finally, practice playing along with the audio track.
As you play along with the track, you may notice incorrect rhythms or notes. Correct the errors and spot practice those areas until smooth.
Review Old Pieces
Finally, a good session includes practice of both new material and prior lessons. Besides providing a good warm-up, older pieces continue to improve for weeks, sometimes months, after your initially learn them.
Practice your rhythm skills by clapping and counting aloud Da Beat Thing below. Keep a steady beat as you clap the rhythm. Once you can clap the rhythms smoothly, practice the same exercise on the open first string of the guitar. Maintain the meter’s accent pattern and alternate the right hand fingers between the middle and index fingers (m-i-m-i).
Using the Audio Player
Listen to each exercise by clicking on the audio player below each staff. After clicking the play button, you'll hear a metronome countdown to clue the downbeat. Each exercise repeats three times. Practice playing with the track.
Repeat Symbol
A double bar with two dots indicates repetition of a musical section. All Da Beat Thing exercises have a repeat symbol at the end of the line.
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How to Practice
Patience is a Virtue
“Da Beat Thing” Tips
Da Beat Thing
