Hi Lee, your books are terrific as is the site. Really helpful stuff.
My question is around timing & rhythm. I feel like I have no natural sense of rhythm and that whatever consistency and flow I achieve always comes from brute force effort and constantly feels like it’s going to slip away any moment. What’s the best way to develop an ear for timing and rhythm, and the “feel” for the hand and finger coordination needed to improve this weakest aspect of my playing? Even guitarists without a great repertoire or a ton of flashy skills sound great when they can play a nice steady beat and sustain it come what may.
I’d love to improve this basic skill before I dig too much deeper on the more technical stuff we talk about here – or at least give it 50% or more of my attention for a while. I am working more with a metronome these days, and it certainly helps. What else can I do to boost progress?
Lee, thanks, this is helpful. I’m kinda committed to a right-hand guitar at this point – have messed around a long time and just now trying to put some more discipline into my practice. Keeping time in simple tunes is not bad – I started out learning ragtime fingerstyle, a slow process, but the alternating steady bass came fairly easily and stuck well. It’s more those pieces where there’s rests and chord phrasings that begin a measure on the off-beat that I really feel lost in. Willie Nelson’s ‘Home Motel’ is a great example of a slow piece that sounds like it should not be much trouble but is actually a timing minefield for me. Same with a lot of slow blues, once it strays off the beaten into creative territory.
