Just another two cents on guitar that maybe someone can learn from.
One of the great things about the guitar is that it is also a rhythm instrument. You can't play guitar without a sense of rhythm . . . at least, you have to develop a sense of rhythm :wink:
Let's look at a funky shuffle that is easy to pick up and well help your apprecaition of the guitar as a rhythm instrument.
Guitar grooves are often played in sixteenth notes, so you will have four notes to every beat. Let's learn how to make a rhythmic "click" to this system.
Pick a note, a single note on the guitar. Press your fretting finger firmly against the string, pressing it to the fret and play that note. Now lift your left hand, or your fretting hand, up so that it isn't pressing the string against the fret, but is just lighting touching the string. Now play it again. You have "muted" that note, or made a percussive "click." Now, play a series of sixteenth notes . . . but only play one note, then two muted notes, then the note again, then two muted notes. So you are playing this: NOTE, click click NOTE click click NOTE click click. You will get this very cool sounding "ONE, two three, One, two three, One, two three" lick going. That would be great to play during an introduction, bridge, or modify it to play with an organist during shout music. When you have mastered this lick with one note, pick a chord . . . usually a ninth chord, because that is very common in guitar grooves . . . and practice the same style with the ninth chord.
Remember, guitar grooves are often played in sixteenth notes . . . . both lead and, I would imagine, bass guitar. Hope this helps, and . . . Be Blessed!
