STOP Playing Boring Rhythms On Guitar
Does all of your rhythm playing on the guitar sound the same?...
Do you wish there was an easy way to break out of this?...
I can be done and is not that hard....
Today’s article relates to a recent discussion with my friend Diana de Cabarras from SongWritingLessonsOnline.com about how to get out of a rhythm guitar rut. We talked about how to stop playing the same old boring rhythms that we feel like we always end up doing. Diana had some great insights, which I gave as my opinion on how to resolve this issue.
Diana noted that sometimes the rhythm guitar parts can be an afterthought. We can become very familiar with a few strumming patterns and default to them often. Or we could hit the guitar harder to make a more forceful rhythm guitar part, a more dynamic rhythm guitar part. She then asked me what ways I like to create parts that allow us to get more diversity from our guitar sound. For example, there are more sonic effects, textures, and the maximum diversity we could get in our guitar parts, even if we're not super advanced with guitar playing.
I responded by saying that there is a super easy answer. It's wonderful and such an easy thing. All you have to do is start learning different chord inversions and playing the same chords differently. You can begin with using simple little triads, perhaps only on the three
treble strings of the guitar, the three skinny strings. You don't have to get into the six-string different inversions of chords immediately. So, using different chord inversions makes your playing sound different even though you are playing the correct chord. This option can add a whole layer of harmonic texture. When you start using different finger shapes, mainly if you are used to playing five and six-string chords, and now you start playing chords that only require you to play three strings, your approach to playing is different. With this different approach, and because you aren’t banging through all your strings, it will force you to play differently than you would have with the chords you are used to. Expanding your chord knowledge will, in some ways, force you to approach playing the chord differently. This means it's going to sound different. You almost don't even have to try because, by its nature, it will come out differently.
Another easy way to break up dull rhythms, whether with your expanded knowledge of chords or not, is that you needn’t always strum. You can try arpeggiating your chords. This is a straightforward way to make things sound completely different. You might have a little trouble working the transitions between arpeggiating and strumming. It shouldn't take too long, though, as long as you practice taking two chords and strumming one, then arpeggiating the other. Keep practicing alternating the strumming and arpeggiating with each chord. This method has nothing to do with your fretting hand and has everything to do with your strumming and picking hand. You will pick it up in no time.
Chord inversions and combining arpeggiating with strumming are two straightforward ways to get yourself out of a rut. If you ever feel stuck and like you do the same thing repeatedly, the best way to get out of that rut is to do something different. And I'm telling you, expanding your chord vocabulary alone will automatically induce you to play things much differently. And as always, have fun with your guitar.
Remember to always have fun with your guitar and I’ll see you next time…
If you are looking to learn another excellent rhythm guitar skill, you can check out my FREE lesson on how to weave lead guitar melody lines to your rhythm guitar playing here: https://rhythmguitarlessons.net/Pro
Have you ever heard extra notes played between chords and wondered, "Why do THESE notes sound good?" or, "How can I do that?".
Most guitar players struggle to find the right notes to play between chords to make their songs sound better.
The fact is, it's easy to do once you learn how. And the result is your guitar playing sounds much more complex than it is...
This is good news for you:
I've created a brand new eGuide (yes, it's free), where I show you an easy way to connect chords with single-note melodies to sound like a pro.
The best part is it's 100% FREE (no strings attached)!
Download your copy instantly so you can instantly make your rhythm guitar playing sound better. https://rhythmguitarlessons.net/Pro
About Mark Turko: Mark Turko is a professional guitar player and instructor with over 30 years of experience and teaches guitar lessons online.