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?
Thanks, Lee. You’ve been very generous with all this thought. Yes, I can keep the om-pah basic ragtime or blues beat – it’s when it gets “interesting” I struggle. And I’ve kind of surrendered to it as you suggest, just trying to work out what I can do.
