If someone asked you what the most important part of playing blues guitar is… what would you say?
Eric Clapton is known for saying that bends are about the only thing he still practices on… BB King used to say that he wished he played more chords in interviews I’ve seen.
Well… I’m certainly not going to argue with BB or Eric, but most of us aren’t quite there yet.
What if you’re still a mere mortal looking to get from sounding “unbearable” to “not too shabby?”
For most beginners (no matter how long you’ve been a beginner) that problem seems to revolve around these 3 letter – R.H.M.
R, is for Rhythm and it’s the backbone of most all music. Without it, you’re trying to hang your notes in mid air and just hope they are in the right place – and they aren’t. Imagine a house builder attempting to hang sheets of drywall on walls with no studs, or an art lover attempting to hang a painting in the middle of the room with no walls in sight… that’s what you’re trying to do with Rhythm and it won’t work.
H, is for Harmony which means putting chords together. In the blues we have the 12 bar blues, the 8 bar blues, and many variations of both and others. Harmony’s good, but nothing without the rhythm.
M, is for Melody which means the part you hum. Think of the great melodies, “Yesterday,” by the Beatles or “Sweet Home Chicago,” by Robert Johnson. Take away those melodies and all you have are some chords and a beat… and no one walks away humming chords and a beat.
The 3 letters are in their order of importance, yet most guitar players go backwards – or at the very least they start in the middle with chords, then go to melody, and then try to add some rhythm later.
Needless to say, that almost never works either.
You’ll notice in pretty much every video I ever do that I count out loud and I make sure that you know what beat to play each and every note on – that’s on purpose because I’ve come to find that most folks who have been learning off the internet have left out this most important skill.
Sure, it might not be fun or sexy or even all that interesting, but without it you create a glass ceiling that at some point you’re going to have to break through – and that never gets easier the longer you put it off.
56 replies to "The RHM System"
Aww Jees, not the timing thing AGAIN!!!
Only Joking!!!
I hear you. I’ve been trying to incorporate timing into my regular practice sessions.
It’s like tapping your head and rubbing your tummy at the same times 100.
I know (from your words of wisdom over the years) that if I keep doing it I’ll get gooder at it.
Great New Year to you all
Hey Griff and co.
Always great Info. I’m a bit more fortunate than some . As a child I was smitten with the drums and spent alot of time in drum lessons, and therefore be some proficient in reading drum music. And that’s now my problem.
Reading and counting and bends and slurs and triplets etc etc is a whole nother animal all together.
I’m now 70yrs old and and play nearly every day. I hav e accumulated a small arsenal of musical equipment, which includes a BEAT BUDDY which produces multiple rhythms , and a looped..so that combo is hugely helpful to practice against .
Anyway THANKS for all you and your team do.
Griff’s Strumming and Rhythm Mastery course may be helpful for addressing the issues discussed in this lesson.
Yes, SRM is an excellent course!
and every time i try to go through it just puts me to sleep. lol i have chronic fatigue syndrome. Sorry Griff.
I NEED CORDS TO DO ANYTHING ON GUITAR. LOVE MY LOOPER. HAVING ONE , GIVES YOU THAT ABILITY TO HAVE THE CORDS AND RYTHUM SO YOU CAN WORK ON YOUR LICKS AND SOLOS IN TIME, WITH THE CORD CHANGES.
IT ALL WORKS OUT. HAPPY NEW GRIFF AND YOU BGU BROTHERS.
How ’bout a course on rhythm / counting?
I am a mere mortal looking for that special breakthrough, when I can express my feelings through the notes I play (and bend). I am so grateful to have you, Griff, as my teacher. I know it is only a matter of time, and practice, before I reach that level. Then the sky is the limit on free expression.
So true, my son recons I use a metronome as background noise. I still have a long way to go!
Great comments !!!
still cant get my head around the caged system ? any ideas
There are several aspects to the CAGED system….where are you stuck?
What I find ridiculously hard is, counting out loud and humming the melody at the same time……….hahaha
count with your foot and hum along!!!! it works!!! 🙂
This is a very good lesson. I’ve always had trouble counting and playing.
I think it’s particularly difficult for me when bends or other techniques are involved at the same time.
Even though I know my blues and other scales very well, I’ve always found it difficult to count it out, like when I’m learning a new lick.
Maybe I should write a new song called “Geriatric Blues”(?). (while counting!) Lol !.
Thanks Griff, love these tips! (78 and still learning guitar!).
Hi Ron–You are still a boy! I am 87,& still learning too!Keep pickin Ron Towle
Lol ! Hey Ron, good to hear you are still learning and playing!
That makes 3 Rons all spending time doing time learning …WOW!!! ..me? I’m 75.5
I’m Dave and only 63, I am still learning too. That counting stuff is harder than it looks! At 63 one thing I have learned though is (some) patience.
Well, I guess Dave’s are naturally younger as I am 67. I know a couple of professional musicians who laugh at me about Griff’s idea of counting out loud. But, honestly I have tried it for a while now and I believe it has improved my ability to play. So I think counting out loud works. Some people don’t.
BEEN PAYING FOR 53 YEARS.I HAVE NEVR HAD TO COUNT OUT LOUD. I JUST TAP MY FOOT. I LOVE DAVID GIMORE FROM PINK FLOYD AND WAS A FRIEND OF ERIC CLAPTON. ERIC SHOWED ME HOW TO KEEP TIME WITH BENDS. GILMORE, HE USE’S THEM ALOT. I HAVE COPIED HIS SOLOS FROM DARK SIDE OF THE MOON, MONEY AND AFEW OTHERS HE. MAKE HIS SOUND WITH MORE BEND THEN GOING UP THE FRET BOARD. GOOD TOUGHT GRIFF TNX!
I’m 66 and have been playing for 7 years, and for what it counts, counting helps newbie’s keep the beat. Thanks Griff..your post are always helpful and inspiring to this old guy!
I just atarted building my own solos and playing them to jam tracks .. does this work ? Also playing chords to jam tracks with different strums..Am I on the right track?? please help..
Have you tried Riffstation? Great free software, gives you chords for most songs, allows you to play along, and in essence gives you a Band in The Box feel as you can just play drums and base from the song along with your own stuff, at different speeds. Griff, what I have learned so far from your daily emails is that Less is More when it comes to the Blues, accuracy over speed. I just joined a band and played my first solos this past week. One was ok, the other was not bad at all, and that was because I used fewer notes, let them ring, off a pentatonic scale. Definitely a beginner still.
Hay Scott, are you sure about that name, RIFFSTATION? Just looked in the ap store on my phone and its not there. thanks Bill
riffstation is a computer software and is no more fender bought them out and shut it down.
The acronym that works for me is:
MMM or M^3
Meter – rhythm
Motion – chord progression, Harmony
Melody – what you said
<bb
Timing is everything. Without it its just noise.
Thanks Griff,
I have been able to play many scales most of my adult life, and I am 63. For the last few months I have been studying with your Classic Rock program, and it is teaching me rhythm! The notes I now play sound so much better. Also, the chords I play when I play rhythm, now seem to flow. Onward and upward.
Thanks again!
Bob
I believe you mentioned it once before and I can’t recall the exact term you used but it was referencing the fourth element and that was Passion. I know that wasn’t the word but it’s like your term adding “sugar” could be salt or hot sauce but it’s something you inject that makes it “personal”. So let’s not forget that fourth element whatever you call it. RHM and U (you).
Good stuff!
Right on! The heart, and soul of playing solos comes from within. You can not learn that!
Like the acronym…simple and usable…thanks…later.
cowboy
Playing along with good jam tracks that emphasize the ‘back beats’, in my experience, is really helpful – the counting, 2 and 4, is done for you.
I seem to get along quite nicely till I start counting, then my fingers seem to tie themselves in knots.
Harry, you may take some comfort in the fact that you are not alone in the world with that problem. I experience exactly the same thing.
Yes, counting throws me off, too. So does singing or talking. Guess I’ll never be a front man!
Its more a case of counting until you have the rhythm pattern automated in your head, then stop counting and enjoy. It can take a while 🙁
Occasionally you will need to start counting again if you haven’t played the rhythm for a while.
i recently watched an interview on u-tube with Keith Richards.
The first words out of his mouth?
The RIGHT hand is the most important hand in playing the guitar.
Hmmm?
Thanks Griff!
Thanks for your commitment to the art of music and to your students.
~gb~
Hi gb,
I saw a youtube vid with a guy called Tony Hess called “How to play lead guitar fast & clean without mistakes.”
In it he explains the importance of not only learning the notes and chords with your left hand but learning the right hand parts as a separate exercise.
I found that now when I focus on my right hand (when playing) I make a lot fewer mistakes.
It’s really weird thinking about the right hand and letting the left do what its been taught instead of the other way round.
Hey Griff, Yep I know the RHM as it is in your courses and so is COUNTING OUT LOUD and it works. Even having been a past Drummer in the 60’s I need to Count out Loud for the Guitar. I have Rhythm Harmony & working on the Melody.
I have already the Course Playing on the Porch and will get to it as soon as I have finished BGU V2 and some others.
This is a great refresher.
Thanks heaps.
Michael- Sydney-Australia
Hi Griff
I just remembered that I already have this course buried among other courses of yours. Must dig it out as I sure need some RHM. Thanks for the reminder.
After watching the video, I didn’t see anyway to order the product…???
counting, simple but not easy. Ive had your BGU coarse for about 4 years now and study it all the time And I watch all your videos, and I have to laugh at myself because you have been preaching count out everything to me for all those 4 years and I have to admit I must have a really thick skull because I just started counting faithfully in the last week. sure I tried it before but thought I could just do it by ear but now realize I cant. so here I am in a bitter sweet relationship with myself. on one hand mad because I kinda wasted 4 years of practice and sweet because it finally sunk in and I can see how wonderful music is when you count. and how much better I actually sound even though Im still slow at it. and it has become amazingly exciting again. im like in my music room every day because I cant wait to try counting to something new each day. Thanks Griff, oh and your never give up attitude you have I think is rubbing of on me too :-):-):-):-)
These points are true it’s as much the strumming hand as your chord hand and timing is a must,the amount of bands I hear trying to make it are not in time with each other and not in tune sometimes,counting out loud works it’s how I learnt to play years ago,I am a pro studio guitar player and play any music,but play the blues mostly and it’s what I like playing.and a quick tip for solos to pratice your half bends and get a nice blues solo start this would be over chords A7. D7 E7 and solo start is all on the G string frets 7 -8–9 Tab is half bend up 7 three times then 9 – then 8 great B string and back to nine on the g string then down to the low E string 8 half bend then 8 again then 10 on the B string then 8 bend at the low e string sounds great I can send you the tab as music if anyone wants it but griff will no this one.happy playing and your a great teacher griff good to give back your knowledge
Hi Paul!
You said you could send the tab for this?
I would appreciate it if you could send it to my gmail account.
Also if you could send a music track for it?
I am just starting to try to play solos, so any help would be appreciated!!
great griff! you are still the only teacher giving best advice to everyone about counting. this has worked for me big time now i need to playing jazz.
i have played for years learning the stuff from memory, and did pretty good. but when it came to soloing it didn’t take long for me to be anywhere but where i should be. if anyone is reading this, COUNT OUT LOUD.
Griff,
I am proud to say I answered your question correctly. I’ve been in the BGU family for about 6 months now and although I can’t practice as much as I would like, the one thing I have been doing is counting out loud and I can’t believe how much better I sound.
Thank you,
What does one do if they can’t count? Whenever I try and count and play at the same time my hands freeze and the music stops. From the 5th grade to the 11th grade I played a trumpet. Makes it difficult to count out loud as one might presume. I used to be able to count in my head but don’t seem to be able to do that currently.
Excellent point Griff. I used to be just a rhythm player for a long time and I loved it.
I know without that tight groove and a few nice chord shapes there’s no where at all to put any lead icing on top.
And thanks a lot to yourself and people like Bob Murnahan I like to do a bit of both now.
I realise I’m just a guitarist 🙂
Funny thing is I seem to play so much less…
It’s not what you play – its actually where or when you put it and if you put it in exactly the right place
it sounds perfect!
I used to count everything in 8’s and it seemed to work for me.
Now I count out loud properly, hard as it is to do and everything from tricky parts to beautiful leads
and even singing works so much easier for me. Strangely it helped my ear.
It’s the best thing I never did!
This honest advice from a great teacher, is the best advice you’ll probably ever get…
good intro to the whole concept of creating music, Griff. Thanks. The ordering and downloading process for this course was so simple I am ready to start on it in just a couple of key strokes. Hopefully, I can pick up the concept and put it to work on my back porch today.
Cheers Griff
It’s a good course playing on the porch
And give away at $9
I have a little story. A couple of days ago I get a call from my dad. Hey come over I won this guitar at a raffle and I need you to see, it’s a soccer ball.
So I go to his house and yep, it is. The body was round about the size of a soccer ball and it’s painted to look the same. Crappy little thing.
Well he has one of his buddies over and he has his guitar and he wants to play a bit. This is not something I do, but I went for it. This guy has a cache of tunes he plays all the time. These folks are all in there eighty’s and have been playing there stuff for a long time.
He starts a song and asked me join in. I listen and wait a bit to get the rhythm (R). He barks outs four chords (H), and I quickly figured what key they were in. Then my dad says sing (M). I don’t sing, but I can hum. Didn’t know the words anyway. I had no problem with these guys and had a lot of fun. I kind of owe it to your lessons. It gave me a lot of confidence. Thanks.
Does “Playing on the Porch” come with complete downloadable TABS for all lessons?
I wish I could connect scales when soloing instead of sounding the same. Blues are the building blocks to everything in music to me. I try to play everything from country to jazz bit I always come back to blues, I guess it’s in me but I just need to get better at it.
Thank You.I want it know.Pavel
So true, for me, about not counting. My New Year’s resolution, count out loud, use the metronome!