I am having trouble playing in rhythm so when i try to play it sounds terrible.

[Moose408]

The brain can only learn one thing at a time, so if you are concentrating on your fretting hand you will struggle with rhythm and visa versa.

The key to learning anything on the guitar is isolation. Just practice rhythm with the fretting hand just holding a chord or better yet muting the strings. Then switch to learning the fretting hand stuff and just strum once per measure. Over time you will get better at both and it will be easier to combine them.

The other key is to slow things down. When using a metronome you should be constantly adjusting the speed. If you play something 3 times in a row an make mistakes then slow it down, if you can play something 3 times in a row with no mistakes then speed it up. Typically you can make adjustments in 5 to 10 bpm increments, although I’ve had complicated rhythms where I had to increase by 1 bpm per day for several weeks to get the timing right.

I also highly recommend the book The Laws of Brainjo, it is great at explaining how the brain learns especially related to guitar/banjo.

[jumpinjeff]

I want to highlight one of the things Moose408 is talking about: speed. I like his suggestion of 3 times and if you make a mistake slow down. The part I do differently is when I speed up. I will only speed up when I have tension both mental and physical whipped. This is my path to the fastest progress. When I am attempting something new I slow down to seemingly ridiculous speeds to mitigate and jettison tension. 30 bpm if necessary. One beat ever two seconds. That is a lot of time. It may not sound musical but it gives my body and mind a chance to sync up. Once I have achieved tension free playing I can crank up the speed being mindful to never chase the speed using tension as my guide to when I have increased bpm too quickly. I spent many years chasing speed. My time was not used to my best advantage.

It takes time to develop skill to execute rhythm so that it makes sense in your head and is consistent. Your time is different than my time. Let go of any time frame (as in, I will get this by next month, year, decade etc.) if you find yourself dealing with frustration. Work on removing tension. Use bpm as your tool. You will get it. Frustration is the nemesis of fast progress. Yes, I had my share of that too until I started working on tension.

[Carol-3M-Stillhand]

@Rob503 You are certainly not alone with this issue… And it’s an important thing especially if you are playing with others but also to sound better when you are soloing or singing along with your playing.

Lots of great advice here already- I would add that I usually never even get the metronome out until I am able to get my chord transitions fairly smooth first. It’s almost impossible to stay “on the beat” with the metronome if you’re still working at finding the right place on the fretboard.

Not sure which piece you are working at specifically, but whichever song, try just looking at the chords first. Do one simple down-strum per measure with whatever chord is indicated, changing chords as written. One strum per measure on the first beat. If you can get your new chord changes smooth on the first beat of the next measure, then get your metronome out and work on 1 beat per click with just the strum on the first beat. That will get you used to hearing the metronome, counting in your head (or out loud) along with the metronome, and your hands are only strumming once per beat on the 1.

(For example, If the song is in 4/4 time, starts on a C chord for the first 2 measures then switches to an F chord for the third and a G for the 4th measure, set your metronome at 30 bpm, and counting out loud: “1-2-3-4/C strum-2-3-4/C strum 2-3-4/F strum 2-3-4/G strum 2-3-4) If you’re not used to singing/speaking out loud while you are playing guitar, you might have to just count out loud with your metronome without your guitar at all, just to get used to that.

You can also use your metronome to practice your chord transitions. Tony has some lessons on that, you can practice say a C to F to C to F along with a metronome. That spotlights a specific element of a song which you can focus on until it’s smooth. Then switch it up to F to C to F to C etc… You can use the chord changes found within the song you are interested in learning, but use the metronome to help you smooth out the individual elements of the song. You will be ready for the entire song before you know it!!

[Rob503]

I knew you folks would have good idea’s. I did order the book The Laws of Brainjo. I used to teach Electronics, math and physics and I have always preached you can solve most anything if you follow the correct recipe, work at it from a solid base and used the tools in the correct order…case solved.

Thanks Rob

[Loraine]

@Rob503 I feel for ya! I’m A rhythm player, because I can’t fingerpick because of tremors in hands. Even with tremors, strumming is hard, transitioning between. Chords is difficult, and speed is another issue. They are 3 separate issues to be dealt with individually and eventually pit together.

For chord transitions, there are a lot of things you can do to get better. Most aren’t a ton of fun to do, but they’re necessary in order to build muscle memory.

I agree with the others, slow it way down and use a metronome. 4:4 Strum a chord on beat one. Use beats 2,3,4 to change to the next chord; Again strum on the one neat, and keep repeating. When you’re able to transition at a low speed (and many times it is a very low speed), increase it in increments of 5 beats and begin again. And it goes on. You will learn to transition faster and smoother with this exercise..

For finger placement on chords, practice hovering fingers over the correct strings and bringing them down on the correct strings at the same time. You’ll again start with a very slow beat on the metronome 4:4 and increase as you become proficient at that speed. If you currently place one finger at a time, you’re creating muscle memory to place one finger at a time. To break the muscle memory, use the opposite pattern of placement , and then switch up to placing the 2nd finger first and then alternate between 2 other notes in chord. Then practice placing 2 fingers at the same time, and then 2 different fingers. Do all combinations, and then practice hovering over the strings without touching them, and then placing them at same time on their respective strings. notes, then switch of the 2 fingers and use a different combination

Strumming is difficult, which surprises a lot of people. It simply takes a helluvalot of time and practice. Have you taken the Jumpstart to strumming yet? This is another to practice with a metronome. There are a lot of strum patterns out there. Stick to 1-2 for now until you get better. I still struggle sometimes with strumming, because I’m tight and stiff from fibromyalgia, and I have the tremors, and my hand jumps, and I can’t hit the strings. I simply keep at it.

Sorry for length. Got a little carried away. :). Feel free to ask questions.