Can you walk and chew gum at the same time? How about rub your stomach and pat your head at the same time?
Well you might want to start practicing because in this video you’ll see how to do quarter note triplets and they can be a little tricky 🙂
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44 replies to "Can You Walk And Chew Gum?"
Paul Butterfield largely goes unmentioned today, I was fortunate to sit in on the first recordings of his band Better Days in Woodstock. I’d love to hear your take on his material sometime.
Cool beans
It helps me to use upstroke for this….problem I have is I keep strum instead of foot and tend to hit strum in wrong place…tanka
Great lesson but I would really like a TAB for that little solo at 5:14 of the video that sounds like the JUKE Lic.
VERY EASY TO COUNT OUT LOUD ON THIS.
I ALSO CAN DO THE STRUM BETWEEN YOUR FOOT TAPPING.
THIS IS HOW I COUNT.
EXMPL. G-C-G. AT 90 BEATS PER MINUTE.
THE CORDS TO “BAD TO THE BONE” BETWEEN THE SLIDE OF G-C-G, I COUNT 1,2.3 AND STRUM AGAIN. THE 123 IS WHEN YOU SING THE LYRICS BETWEEEN THE SLIDE OF THE CORDS. I TREID TO COUNT OUT LOUD, BUT THEN I HAVE TO SING ALSO. THANKS GRIFF. I LIKE THIS ONE ALOT.
Hi Griff.
After reading your email article from this morning, I was reminded about my lack of understanding Tab. The first time I ever heard of Tab for music was upon buying BGU. I am still working through the course and it is a big help but I request that you explain how to read the Tab as I do not quite get it. I must admit I don’t spend a lot of time on it. I suspect there are others in the same boat, maybe not but….. I am making this request on another blog that allows comment. Thank you in advance for your consideration.
Larry B
Hopefully this won’t confuse anyone.
Tab for guitar is when you see the horizontal lines, those represent the strings on your guitar. There are 6 of them. When you see a NUMBER on one of the lines that is what fret you play on that string.
So if you see the NUMBER 3 on the bottom line of the tab, you play the bottom (fattest) string pressing the string down at the 3rd fret (which happens to be the note G).
It’s easy.
Where tab falls short is the timing or duration of the notes. You can’t tell from the tab if you hold the note for 1 beat or 1/2 beat or 2 beats or whatever.
That is why you’ll often see tab below conventional notation. You may not know the NAMES of the notes (if you did you wouldn’t need tab), but the notes do indicate how long to hold the note–whether it’s a whole beat or half beat etc.
So the tabbed notes are lined up directly below the notes on the conventional notation. And the tabbed note correlates with the conventional note directly above it.
So if you see a measure with with 4 quarter notes in the conventional notation, each of the tab notes below those quarter notes will be held for 1 whole beat each. E.g., 1, 2, 3, 4.
That’s it in a nutshell. Where it gets really hairy is when you have triplet and/or sixteenth notes.
I’m trying this n I’ll eventually get it nice idea, while I’m at it I recently purchased your five slide solos DVD series I own a fender stratguitarit is currently strung with super slinkys on it Per your recommendation I bought a set of .11 s to.54 Erie ball beefy slinky strings to switch to practice on one of my guitar buddies said I will lose intonation with that sizeable of a difference n might have trouble keeping it in tune or might need a neck adjustment afterwards is this True? Anything I can do to gradually string these Up? I’ve never tried slide before so this is new territory for me anyone out there have some Ideas? Thanks john
Hi John, this is just my opinion on slide. I too have a fender strat and I use 9 gauge strings and when I do slide guitar I just use either string 2-3-4 in standard tuneing or I tune to a open D or a open G tuneing and that allows me to play most slide guitar parts, sounds awesome to,hope this helps a bit.Also it is a must to learn triplets and quater notes great lesson griff
Paul I’ll give it a try thanks for your Input! best regards john
I just wanted to say Griff you are a good guy, I enjoy the Blues Guitar Unleashed project I bought from you. I hope you have a blessed new year. Thanks. Mike
Some people learn differently. For me I picked it up “by ear” very quickly. I found the counting very hard. I can do it, but with great difficulty. The counting actually got in the way of me doing it. Actually the LESS I concentrated on counting and the more I just let it happen, the better I got.
It’s another item that is a lot harder to explain than to do. Funny thing about this is I’ve been doing it as long as I can remember, but watching the video and counting it took me by surprise. It seemed a bit like a centipede trying to concentrate on how he walks instead of just doing it.
But it still gives me a new perspective on it. Another one of those things I already knew, but didn’t know I knew it yet! Thanks Griff
If someone doesn’t just feel the triplet rhythm, and counting it helps them, it’s easier to count it as a splitting of the *half note* interval into triplets. So, if you’re in the 4/4 and you’re tapping quarter notes with your foot (one, two, three, four…), to change to the triplet rhythm, first change to tapping half notes (one, three, one, three..) and then divide those half note intervals into triplets (one and a, three and a…).
NOPE! I just can’t count and play. I can tap and play, have done for 40 odd years, but the counting whilst playing is like trying to knit FOG to me. YET, I have no problem with timing and rhythm! Keep on pushing it, it may come to me, someday.
Ray (UK)
Hi Griff,
When I watch these great little riffs I like to follow them in Tab sheets so that I can practice them in a slower fashion while listening to you and relating to you. So my question is Can you provide the Tab Sheets for these great phrases.
I am sure others would like to be able to see the nots and the Bar chords etc on a Tab sheet.
Looking forward to receiving your lesson again with the supply of the Tab sheet to download.
I can memorise the structure with the Tabs but hard to memorise what you are doing unless playing over and over.
Otherwise great as usual.
Michael -Sydney Australia
Many years ago I took my wife dancing. After watching me try to move with the music she finally analyzed my problem. She told me the problem was that I had no rhythm. I came to believe she was correct. I’m athletic but can’t dance to save myself. Mechanics I understand. Rhythm I don’t get at all. I can play or I can count but so far I cannot play and count even on the simplest of songs. Don’t know what to do. I like watching the videos but it seems hopeless that I could ever do it.
Hey John
I had the same issue, might want to start by stomping your foot to count time and try and play slow till you get the feel, then once your comfortable with the foot then add the count this has helped me a lot, but seems a lot of the time we as people like to play everything super fast right from the get go, so just relax and take your time the speed will come in time, just a little note but once you hear it in time sync it will all come together. hope this helps
I feel your pain. Many years ago I felt totally ashamed of my dancing efforts in a Salsa club in La Habana in Cuba, it felt like I had a broom handle shoved up my backside compared to the supple rhythmic natives. One guy told me to click my fingers while I tried to dance, it didn’t make me the star of the show but it really helped know where the groove is. Tapping your foot is the guitarist equivalent.
Thanks for so lovingly and generously sharing your knowledge,experience,and expertise of the blues.-It’s a great education.
Griff, you are just a great teacher and guitarist! I have always got way more than my moneys worth with your products and information you give.
just thank you for being who you are. you are the real deal.
The walking was okay,,,, Buttt the chewing gum part,,,I think after I resolve the jumble I might take take up flying!!! Whew!!!
I’m another one who has learned to just feel the beat a loooong time ago, and this is no problem for me. I can do it for one bar, two bars, three bars, four bars, and easily keep the beat with my tapping foot or even do it and dispense with the foot tapping. But for those who still have to count everything out, boy, I think you opened up a whole bucket of snakes. I’m glad it’s not me who has to explain to them how to keep everything from getting wrapped around the axle. 🙂
This is is cool and hard to count! Honest feedback, Mr. Hamlin, I think you kinda flubbed the counting part on this one. When you counted it the first time you started on 1. That messes it all up! Then you kinda mentioned that you had to wait a bit (like the 1-and-UH …) I found that starting on the Uh makes it very easy to “naturally” (?) go with it!
Was this just a clever teaching technique to allow for self-discovery??? Thanks!
I believe I am similar to Bill Doyle. I had it when you played it and can mimic it, but then when I get into the counting like you did, Griff, I mix myself up, lol.
I hear it all the time, do it all the time noodling around at home but never knew what to call it. Another, “Oh! That’s why it works.” moments. You sure provide a lot of those Griff. Thanks for all of them!
I just spit my gum out!
I quit walking
How about one on singing and playing at the same time.
no offense, but griff can’t sing!. liked it griff,tnxs
I like lessons pertaining to time and counting, and I especially like syncopation which I hope we will learn about too, although I got a piece of sheet music the other day which is in 12/8 time and I am having a whale of a time trying to figure out the counting on this thing, which makes me feel like a dunce with no expertise in counting at all. I do think that if you want to be a good musician that time, counting, tapping your foot and anything else pertinent is very important. Paul
Hi Griff, show the counting on the screen please. That way we can count it out
Thank you
Gary
Hey Griff
THX 4 the Holiday torture lesson LOL
Hi Griff, why dont you write it out so we can see this.
Thank you
Gary
Griff, this is really cool. It sounds like what your friend Marty plays. I look forward working on this to a faster level. Thanks for sending this lesson. Mike Z.
Got it!!
very sweet, have heard it countless times, to see how it fits in is great. though the counting is always a challenge, untill you finally get it down.
Very cool, very hard for me, ,ill keep practicing, cheers.
Great lesson! It will help with my counting. Thanks!
cool info…thanks…later.
cowboy
Griff, I have a good natural sense of timing. I have figured out syncopated rhythm with my ears and a metronome, but your lesson helps me understand the underpinning of what I do. As for keeping my foot tapping correctly with syncopation… no can do… too old, maybe.
I thought this lesson was going to be about doing fast-triplets (32nds or 64ths) as a flourish, a technique I still have a hard time with when the bpm is up. I know “slow is fast” when learning a technique, but this one still makes me feel like a dunce. Any tips in future lessons would be much appreciated.
Hej Mister Griff Hamling. I hvilken kursus del kan jeg lære at spille som du vidste her.. Jeg ønsker også henvisning til begynder jazz. På forhånd tak. Ros skal du også have idet jeg syntes du er en behageligt og god lærermester
What’d he say?????
Another really good useful video, thanks Griff.