rhythm guitar

[guitarwill]

hey guys i was wondering if yall have any rhythm exercises that are good to do. its my limiting "thing" right now. i mean everyday im doing chord exercises with a metronome, and i practice all my scales with a metronome and i'm usually dead on. however, i'm in this rock ensamble at school and i'm just not tight enough with the rhythm,and i need to be cleaner, not sure if its because i never play that rock style music, (mostly i'm a blues player) and its just not my style, or if its having the whole band behind me being a semi recent thing. Anyways any advice or drills would be awsome.

[shark_bite]

Maybe try and practice that band's music with a metronome or a recording?

Good rhythm is genre-agnostic. If you've got good blues rhythm chops, you should be able to turn that into good rock-rhythm chops pretty easily, at least from a groove/pocket standpoint.

[Ken Ho]

If you are doing metronome work etc, maybe it's not you. Maybe it's the other guys ??
Takes a while to keep your rhythm in a full band situation too. Sounds like you are doing OK to me.

[guitarwill]

yeah i mean maybe its just gona take time for me to get used to the full band. i mean i'm kind of freaking out just a bit from the pressure i put on myself in the band situation, havent really calmed down when im doing it yet.

i mean i probably spend 2hrs with a metronome clicking everyday when i'm working on scales, arpeggios, chord work.

could be a hearing thing the place where we practice tends to get a real muddy washed out sound from the acoustics, or maybe a combo either way got to improve because it's really pissing me off

[musicbymicah]

What kind of rock are we talking about?

I agree that good rhythm in blues should translate to good rock rhythm. If anything, I think great blues rhythm is more difficult to play in the pocket than rock.

[guitarwill]

classic rock, modern rock, and pop music, power chords and using octaves and shit like that

[musicbymicah]

I think having a washy rehearsal space will make anyone second-guess themselves... BUT:

Rock is a lot about downstroke eighth notes and letting that dictate your right hands subdivision for sixteenth notes.

And as it was mentioned, NO amount of personal practice will make the band keep up with you. If the drums kinda feel funny and you don't know why, question it. Some drummers don't take enough authority behind the kit, as leader of the bands tempo. And Rock IS drums.

[shark_bite]

Think of your right arm as your pendulum. Don't let it sway from the correct tempo. If you're using your wrists it's a lot easier to let go of the tempo. And try to use eye contact and body language to keep the others in line. Like any other group situation, bands need a leader. If people aren't locking in, lock them in.

[cob666]

The first thing I do when I'm at rehearsal and something sounds 'funny', stop playing. Normally, the other guys will look at you to see what's wrong but indicate to them to keep playing. If it still sounds off then it isn't you.

I find that playing with a live drummer is NOTHING like playing to a steady click. There are always going to be times where you have to slow down or speed up a bit to catch up.