Online Guitar Lessons
Cyberfret.com Online Guitar Lessons
Advertisment

<
arrow Follow Cyberfret.com on
Facebook Google Plus Twitter YouTube

Free Guitar Ebook

Guide to Playing Guitar Songs

Guide to Playing Songs on the GuitarJust want to Play Songs on the Guitar?

Learn the 3 key ways to learn guitar songs.

Learn secret sources for free high quality sheet music....and more.



Guitar Lesson Reviews

Gibson's Learn and Master Guitar

Learn & Master GuitarFind out if this popular DVD guitar course is right for you.

Learn & Master Guitar is 20 DVDs, 6 jam-along CDs, 100 pg printed book, and a 195 pg PDF.

[Read Review]

Got Guitar Questions?


Guitar ForumsAsk questions, or just hangout with other learning guitar players.
 
Home > Reading Guitar Music

Understanding Rhythms: Part 2 - eighth notes, dotted quarter notes

Advertisement
Advertisement
 

All of the exercises are demonstrated along with a metronome click.

Eighth Notes receive a 1/2 beat

--- 2 or more 8th notes are beamed together

--- single 8th notes use a flag

= the symbol for picking down

= the symbol for picking up

8th notes are counted like below ( 1 & 2 & etc..)

When picking 8th notes pick down on the beat (1 2 3 4) and up on the "&".

 


 

Dotted Quarter Notes receive 1 1/2 beats

A dot placed after a note will increase it's value by half the original.

The easiest way to get a grasp on rhythms is to start to recognize pattern that reoccur. Below are 2 different 2 beat rhythmic patterns that use dotted quarter notes. If you can start to see these patterns instead of just a mess of different rhythms, then you are on your way.

Pattern #1


Pattern #2


The following exercise uses these 2 patterns. In the top line, half the measure is one of the 2 patterns, and half is either a half note or 2 quarter notes. In the bottom line the are only the 2 patterns. It can look like a big mess until you are able to see the patterns.

 

Page 1, understanding rhythms part 1



Advertisement