Understanding Rhythms
It is important to understand rhythms even if you don’t read music. All players use the same notes, but it is largely the control of timing, rhythms and phrasing which separates the great players from the average. There are thousands of licks and solos on albums which use only a few notes (e.g., the five notes of the pentatonic scale) but are made interesting by the rhythm with which those notes are played. This lesson deals with some basic whole, half, quarter and eighth note rhythms and shows how they can be used to get the most of the notes of the pentatonic scale.
The Whole Note
This is a whole note. It lasts for four beats. There is one whole note in one measure of * time.
The Whole Rest
This symbol is called a whole rest. It indicates either four beats of silence or a whole measure of silence.
In the following example, the guitar plays a whole note in one measure and nothing in the following measure (a whole rest). This means there is a lot of space for the other instruments. Listen to the recording to hear how the guitar part interacts with the other instruments.
The Half Note
This is a half note. It has a value of two beats.There are two half notes in one measure of * time.
The Half Rest
This is a half rest. It indicates two beats of silence.
The guitar part in this example makes use of whole notes, whole rests, half notes and half rests. Once again, listen to the recording to hear how the guitar part interacts with the other instruments.
The Whole Note
This is a quarter note. It lasts for one beat. There are four * qutaimrtee.
This symbol is a quarter rest. It indicates one beat of silence. Do not play any note. Small counting numbers are placed under rests.
This example demonstrates the use of quarter notes and quarter rests. As with previous examples, listen to the recording to hear the interaction between the guitar part and the other instruments.
Eighth Note Rhythms
This is an eighth note. It lasts for half a count. There are 8 eighth notes * in timoene
When eighth notes are joined together the tails are replaced by one beam.
When you use eighth notes, there are many more rhythm possibilities than when using whole, half and quarter notes. For this reason it is a good idea to have a systematic approach to gaining control of eighth notes. To begin with, try playing through the pentatonic scale using a quarter note on the first beat of the measure and eighth notes for the rest of the measure, as shown in the example below.
