In my experience, only a small handful of folks will actually try and do today’s lesson more than twice…
Which is unfortunate, because I would argue it’s the skill that most everyone I work with needs to improve 🙁
Many of the people who actually do it can do it already and just want to test themselves…
But a select few folks will realize that this sort of thing is one of the most powerful skills you can have for learning music (not just guitar.)
So if you’re a beginner or intermediate player who struggles with time and speed… please do this for a couple of months and tell me if it doesn’t improve a lot of other things you’re trying to play!
14 replies to "Subdividing Beats Workout"
Griff, Great explanation on a very hard concept to relay. Along with how to practice it and show everyone how to apply it and where it’s used in familiar pieces of cool music like the SRV reference. Making note that triplets live in different note timings I think helps in the understanding of it all. The suggestion of jumping larger intervals of bpm than small and back again is key to learning how to practice effectively. I recognise that as what only an excellent teacher does my friend, which you are. Way to go on covering all that in one sit down. Thank You always Robert
Hey Grif,
Thanks! Just what I needed to hear. and thanks for the tip about how to use the metronome. I plateaued 40 years ago when I first started taking lessons and never improved and I was working with a teacher too. He was a great Jazz cat but didn’t dig teaching much.
Griff, this is a great lesson for me simply because it addresses my foremost playing weakness. I am going to give this a try for the next several months to see if I can regulate and improve my timing. Will let you know how I do! Thanks for a great lesson! One of the most important ones for me.
Not to be critical but I’m curious as to why Griff uses the same syllables for eighths as he does for triplets because this will only confuse things. I’ve played jazz piano for over a decade and I was always taught that eighths get one and two and, triplets get one trip let, two trip let, and sixteenths get one ee and ah, two ee and ah. It’s much easier to keep it all straight in your head.
It seems like you had put this lesson out fairly recently and that reminded me that I need to work on it. And I have, albeit not every day. I seem to be able to bump up the eighth notes a bit (only up to 100 or so right now) but still making mistakes with triplets at 60. Very frustrating. It does help when I just use the top 3 or 4 strings or the house pattern though. I’m able to keep the time better. When I hear myself getting out of time, sometimes I’ll hold a note until the next click/beat and start in again. Other times I’ll stop, count, restart. Thanks, Griff.
great lesson this has got to be my worst thing about playing guitar , thanks for the lesson.
Jack
Hi Griff H. Dam good lesson and advice.
I’ll do this for the rest of my life bo matter what.
Ok just don’t say you don’t care if anyone does or doesn’t do this you do care that we all know and do this Subdividing Beats
You are the man. 😎
And I’ll add this as well ok just don’t learn and play music you like, learn and play music you don’t like. Thank you. Adam V. Wilson
So simple and basic. Having played in school bands all through grammer and high school ( clarinet and sax), counting has been so basic to playing music ( sight reading) it just never occurred to me that those learning guitar on their own would oversee this fundamental aspect of music. Count, count, count !! Count your footsteps when walking. Then try counting while you are dancing, or some other physical activity. You will be surprised and might even pick up a back beat. Good job Griff.
eat your broccoli
love this and the exercise where you play the same note over the neck calling the note out and progress in 4ths
that’s a skull crusher after a couple of minutes for me
Great lesson!
Just need to stay disciplined. I’m one of the weird ones that likes this kinda stuff 🤪
Thank you again for another great lesson!!!
I recently have gone back to work on this some more after realizing that this skill was holding back my speed. So, this lesson is exactly what I needed to see. Perfectly timed lesson. No pun intended.
Great practice drill. As a converted drummer I know firsthand what Griff is trying to tell us. You have to be able to count and understand what you are playing regardless of your instrument of choice. You may think this is a boring and difficult lesson, believe me, this is nothing compared to learning the 26 basic rudiments. ( any converted drummer, like me, will understand that last statement.)
Like always, a great lesson Griff. Thanks for what you do.
I’m a drummer as well, playing guitar as a second instrument. This is a lesson where the drum training definitely gives us an advantage. (My drum teacher made me subdivide beats differently with both hands simultaneously!)
Nice! I’m a full member to Blues Guitar Unleashed.
After years of playing, I’m more focused on these types of lessons/coaching sessions. I sprinkle songs into my practice sessions rather than play songs. Once in a while when tired I’ll just play songs a couple of hours but most days focus on the drills.
A professional football player doesn’t practice by hitting field and throwing some balls around, kick a few field goals until he feels good, he drills in specific skills.
I agree with you Griff that the challenge can be making it interesting by trying to make it musical.
Good stuff! I use this stuff in a deliberate practice type format.
Keep making more skill drills to help guitar slingers push their skills to top performance level.