Timing

[Thealchemist]

Very quick and prob stupid question apologies in advance. I have always had problems with timing etc. When more advanced guitarists play those fast solos etc do they actually know the count. For example in a flurry of notes do they know they have hit a certain note on the 3& or is it a feel thing. Does a metronome help in this situation ?

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[Joerfe]

Not a stupid question at all.
Some guitarists are very good at counting while playing and counts all the way through a song.
And then there are guitarists like me who knows where we are in song, but it is based on feel.
I never think about 8th, 16th, 32th or whatever when placing a note. Frankly, I’m not sure anyone does when on the stage.

[Drubbing]

Players at that level do it by feel, they have a natural ability to lock with the rhyhm. I've never counted bars when playing rhythm, I just go by the groove and tempo.

[phx1973]

I’m not advanced by any definition, but agree with the above. Counting bars can be a good way to get a feel for the rhythm. But after that you just get a feel for it. Would be almost impossible for some faster types of rock music anyway. But it’s certainly a good tool


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[stitch101]

For example in a flurry of notes do they know they have hit a certain note on the 3& or is it a feel thing. Does a metronome help in this situation ?

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By the time a guitarist is at the level of playing a flurry of notes they have practiced it hundreds of time and gotten it right.
That's the difference between practicing and playing. A solo isn't just a bunch of random notes thrown together. It is a well
practiced phrase or group of phrases linked together. Think of it like singing with your guitar. Just like a good singer can
change words in a song without think about it so can a good lead guitar player change phrases in the middle of a solo.

To answer your timkng guestion. Timing is something you practice so you don't have to think about it when playing.
And yes a metronome is a big help when practicing timing.
There are no stupid questions so feel free to ask about anything you need help with.

[Matt125]

You can use 'chunking' to help with complex fast licks. In the simple example below, the fellow is using a six note pattern. He just needs to make sure he gets the first note of the pattern on the beat and doesn't think about the timing of the next five.

[Thealchemist]

Cheers for that folks sort of thought that I'm trying to get back into guitar had first lessons 20 years ago but was never very good and fast playing forget it. My goal is to start the beginners course work through it all etc then see how it goes. Mainly just want to play strumming songs and some off the earlier rock and blues stuff. Best I could ever do was play alright now through with a patchy solo lol

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[Thealchemist]

I meant easier rock songs my typing like my ability to hit notes.

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[Thealchemist]

Great thanks

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[DarrellW]

Easy answer to this now you have outlined your aims, if you go through the BC learning all it has to offer and stick to the whole structure religiosity it will sort itself out, there are very few good (if any) soloists who didn’t learn rhythm guitar first, learn a load of songs, enjoy the journey and don’t set yourself unrealistic goals, it all takes time to get to be good; above all have fun with the journey, don’t make it a chore!
Have a browse through some of the Road cases and posts of people playing for critique, following other people’s progress and the timescale will be helpful to understand it all.

[Thealchemist]

Easy answer to this now you have outlined your aims, if you go through the BC learning all it has to offer and stick to the whole structure religiosity it will sort itself out, there are very few good (if any) soloists who didn’t learn rhythm guitar first, learn a load of songs, enjoy the journey and don’t set yourself unrealistic goals, it all takes time to get to be good; above all have fun with the journey, don’t make it a chore!
Have a browse through some of the Road cases and posts of people playing for critique, following other people’s progress and the timescale will be helpful to understand it all.

Cheers Darrell
I'm looking forward to getting the guitar out on holiday as it happens but have ordered Justin's stuff to be there when I get back. I know some of the beginners stuff will be easy for me to pick up but I have decided to go right back to the beginning. I think some of my problems resulted from trying to play songs which were too difficult. There are very few songs I can play fully through. Thanks for the advice.

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[J.W.C.]

I can say that once I started practicing pretty much everything with a metronome or drum track it helped my timing immensely.

[DarrellW]

I still enjoy playing one of the first songs on the course, Three little birds, but I play it using a mix of barre and open chords and a more complex strumming pattern - more like this: