Welcome to a new 10-second tip. Today, it’s all about a really useful yet tricky rhythm exercise that may just make you sweat.
…But it’s very simple and anyone can give it a go, so stick with me.
This is all about:
Playing to a metronome at ridiculously slow tempos
Here’s how it works:
- Get yourself a metronome and set it to a very slow tempo (try anywhere between 20-40 bpm)
- Pluck one simple note in time with every click.
It is a simple exercise, but is it easy?
Absolutely not.
Most people find playing fast to be hard. Of course, when you set a metronome to 180 bpm and you play one note per click, it can be hard to keep up.
Yet playing at the usual tempos of 60 bpm-120 bpm is more comfortable for most.
…But when you sloooooow things right down and go into the deep, dark and murky depths of super slow tempos, things can get really weird.
For instance, if you set the click to 20 bpm, it will be painfully slow and every moment may feel like an eternity.
Like an abyss in time and space.
In fact, your metronome might not go that slow as some only go as slow as 40 bpm.
Trying to stay in time with the click will be hard as there is so much space and a big margin for error.
…But the benefits of this exercise can be wonderful for your playing.
It will help with your internal “clock”, it will help you listen closer when you play, and it can help improve your concentration.
Plus, when you then go back to playing at normal tempos, everything can feel “tighter” and more enjoyable.
Give it a go occasionally.
To sum it up…
Set your click anywhere in the 20-40 bpm region and play one note over and over (it doesn’t matter what note).
It’s not for the faint-hearted, but it is powerful.
I hope you enjoyed that tip and for plenty more like it, you may want to check out my eBook bundle, which is on sale for a few days.
Find out more about it below…
Guitar Domination Super eBook Bundle
Enjoy your Friday!
Dan Thorpe
Guitar Domination
P.S. This post was originally taken from Dan Thorpe’s private email list. To get blog posts like this sent to you which are full of great tips to make fingerpicking, strumming, and learning guitar more enjoyable (especially if you are over 40) join Dan’s list. It’s 100% free, HERE.
Thank you for making strumming fun and better.