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Technique Challenge: Day 9 - Pentatonic Rhythms (Patreon)

Published:
2025-01-10 09:41:35
Edited:
2025-02-01 13:08:47
Imported:
2025-01

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Content

Today we're picking our way through a simple four note pattern. But the interesting thing about the exercise is that we're switching between different rhythms throughout. So it's a picking exercise but also a good rhythmic workout. Tab can be found below - give it a try!

And speak tomorrow,

Adrian

Files

The ACPG 30 Day Guitar Technique Challenge: Day 9 - Pentatonic Rhythms

Today a super-useful picking exercise which also has a strong rhythmic component. Tab can be found on Patreon (pay what you like): https://www.patreon.com/anyonecanplayguitar My NEW intermediate-level soloing course: https://courses.anyonecanplayguitar.co.uk My latest album: https://zodiactoys.bandcamp.com/releases Please subscribe here for many more YouTube lessons: https://www.youtube.com/c/anyonecanplayguitarcouk Check out my website: https://www.anyonecanplayguitar.co.uk Social blah: Instagram (occasionally I post here): https://www.instagram.com/acpgtr/

Comments

Brian West

This is one of my weak spots so I must learn to relax my fingers to stop the cramps and relax my picking hand for the same reason. Still I will get there.

Charles Cluck

The triplets transition is tougher than I expected from watching you do it. I’ll pull out my Telecaster, and see if that helps.

Ted Alkins

Another great exercise Adrian. On a slightly unrelated point, I notice you switched fingering from initially using your pinky for the higher note on each string to playing it with your third finger, which presumably comes more naturally to you. In terms of building good habits, does this matter? I've seen teachers insisting on one finger per fret, for instance, as well as the suggestion that using your stronger third finger is a blues habit to make it easier to bend

NB

Great exercise Adrian - this is a keeper! Cheers

hugh hales-tooke

You are by far the better musician so this well be my mistake rather than yours but the way you play the triplets doesn't sound right to me. It doesn't have a triplet feel. In playing a triplet with the notes in your four note pattern surely the stress should be EGA CEG ACE GAC. I don't hear that in how you play it.

anyonecanplayguitar

Hi Ted. Yes, it really depends on the situation. Of course it's good to have a strong pinky, and there are certain situations where you have to use it. But yes, often for pentatonic/blues kind of stuff I'll use my stronger 3rd finger instead. It just feels more confident and relaxed to me. And the majority of my favourite players take this approach too. For this particular exercise you could do it both ways.

anyonecanplayguitar

Yes, moving to the triplets is definitely the toughest part of this exercise.

anyonecanplayguitar

Yes,keep working on it Brian. Relaxation is so important, you just need to keep monitoring for tension in your hands and trying to minimise it wherever possible.

anyonecanplayguitar

Hi Hugh. Yes, this an interesting point. I wish I'd discussed this more in the video, but I skimmed over it in the interests of keeping things concise. It's all down to that rather tricky group of 4 notes played in a triplet rhythm. I'm playing a strict triplet rhythm there but it somehow feels disguised. The way I see it is you've got different competing rhythmic things happening here. There's the group of 4 which emphasises the first note of each grouping. There's the triplet rhythm which emphasises the 4 strong beats in the bar. Then there's the question of how you accent each of the individual notes. I'm not consciously trying to accent any notes but since I'm alternate picking there's a bit of an accent, or maybe tonal difference, when I'm playing the down strokes. So every other note is emphasised which suggests a bit of an underlying quarter note triplet rhythm. You could equally accent the first note of each triplet more obviously, but then the 2nd and 4th accents would fall on an upstroke which feels a bit more awkward to me. But experiment with it and see what you think.

Steve Brodie

I’m glad Hugh raised that as I was struggling to hear the triplets as well, but put it down to my relative ‘rhythm deafness’. Thank you both, I’ll give it a go and see how it feels.

Peter Healy

Day 9. Adrian, this one is a challenge for me. I'll start slow and work up to it. Cheers Pete

StevenZK

Adrian - I just noticed the pentatonic rhythms pdf says day 8 on it - not day 9...

Tim

Adrian, could you please share your thoughts on whether foot tapping is a personal preference or an essential practice for achieving good rhythm? (I find it uncomfortable for extended periods, possibly due to the height of my chair.) Thanks

Hari Raghavan

Using the metronome I find it difficult to hear whether I'm maintaining the tempo for the triplets and 16th notes parts - or honestly even to know what to listen for to know whether I'm on the right beat and maintaining the tempo. For example, is the idea that I should be aiming to hear the next metronome "click" right when I start on the next set of 3 notes? Or put another way and for the 16th notes: Should I be aiming to "get through" all 4 notes by the time the next click happens? Thanks for any insight anyone might be able to provide. To be honest I have never really used a metronome to practice and I get confused when it comes to counting out things like 1-e-and-a and understanding how tempo and rhythm relate.

Charles Cluck

I revisited this session this evening, and after reading your comment, I modified the GP file by applying "heavily accented" to the leading note of each triplet. The change is pretty subtle to my ear, but discernible. Actually doing it in the up-down alternation is an effort, but I kinda got it in a few minutes.

anyonecanplayguitar

Yes Guitar Pro is a really valuable tool here! Experiment with different accents a listen to how that changes your perception of the rhythm.

Tim Mulry

yes for 16th notes you should be doing 4 notes per beat, 3 notes per beat for triplets. 1st advice is just to start the metronome slow and practice saying the subdivisions out loud as you play while you are tapping your foot on each beat. This is going to be helpful for learning any rhythm, not just this exercise. As for how the notes work: Take a look at the pdf tab. should help you visualize how many notes fit in each beat and how many are each bar. If you can get a copy of Musescore, or guitar pro, you can import the .gp file and loop and play along with the exercise at any tempo.

Tim Mulry

Also, triplets are just tricky. They take awhile to get comfortable with. Practicing just the triplet part over a blues shuffle (search for a "blues shuffle in A backing track") will help you get the feel.