Having perfect rhythm guitar licks is like having perfect handwriting or penmanship. You may have someone else write your lyrics for you, but if you can’t write your own writing well, then your artistic expression will be limited.

It will be hard to read books and articles unless you are able to put thoughts onto paper in proper order, style, and flow.

And just as with good handwriting, it is easy to copy other people’s pen strokes and styles, but only if you can do your own original work!

In music, rhythm is king. If you cannot play rhythms properly, then there is no way you could play the instrument seriously.

I know this from firsthand experience. I couldn’t play any chords when I was a kid, and even now that I’m more experienced, I still struggle at times. But thankfully, I’ve learned how to get better rhythm guitar by learning different techniques and strategies.

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This article will go into detail about some of the ways you can improve your rhythmic skills on the guitar. Hopefully one or two of these tips will make a difference for you and your music.

Practice finding the beat

Finding the main pulse of a song is one of the most fundamental skills you can develop as a guitarist! The main pulse or beat of a piece is what sets it apart from other songs with different beats per minute (BPM).

The main beat comes at around 160 BPM, which is why many music genres have their own unique rhythm styles. For example, Latin music typically has a very strong steady bass drum that helps create the groove.

If you are looking to learn how to play guitar by learning the basics, then this article will help you get started! Read on for more tips about how to get better rhythm guitar.

Learn to read chord charts

Chords are one of the most important things to learn as a guitarist. Almost every song you want to play has at least one chord in it!

But how well you be able to identify, understand, and then play chords depends largely on your rhythm guitar skills.

You must be able to recognize which notes belong to each chord so that you can quickly pick up the instrument and start playing!

Luckily, there are many ways to improve your rhythm guitar skills. By practicing them regularly, you’ll find yourself making more progress faster than ever before.

In this article, we will discuss five easy ways to get better rhythm guitar. Check out all 5 methods here!

Method number 1 – Start with major scales

The term ‘scale’ refers to any set of notes that repeat (or go back to) another note or pattern.

A scale is always made of whole steps and half steps. That means if the top note of the scale is a whole step higher or lower than the rest, then the next note down needs a half-step less or longer, respectively.

Major and minor scales both follow a similar pattern for their whole parts but have different patterns for their middle bits. The middle part of a major scale is either an interval of a third (example: D – E – F – G), or a ratio of 2:1 (example: A – B – C – AB).

Play along with backing tracks

A great way to get better rhythm guitar is by playing along with a pre-made song or music track! There are many sites that offer free songs, or you can create your own account at YouTube and use their music library or equipment store as a source of songs.

You can also make your own beats and melodies in any software like GarageBand, Pro Tools, or Audacity. By doing this, you will be keeping up with current trends in music making, and improving your skills while having some fun!

And don’t worry about not knowing what notes go where yet – there are lots of ways to figure out how to play simple chords and bass lines.

Record yourself playing

If you really want to get better at rhythm guitar, then your first step should be recording yourself playing some songs! There are many ways to do this, from using software to produce music, to buying a microphone or field pack for radio station equipment, to having someone else edit the song for you and record it with you as a guitarist!

Whatever method you choose, the most important thing is to just play what you know already and add in some new tricks. For example, if you’re struggling to keep time while reading off a chord, try practicing by singing the lyrics instead!

By getting more familiar with the basics of timing and rhythm, you will make great progress quickly.

Watch videos of guitarists playing

Watching artists play music is one of the best ways to learn how to play the guitar! What kind of guitarist you want to be comes down to your style, but also what you like about guitars and musicians.

If you love listening to songs with lots of bass then learning how to play bass can help you develop your skills as a rhythm guitarist.

You could even start out by picking up the low end before moving onto higher frequencies.

Learning how to strum patterns is another key part of being a good rhythm guitarist. There are many easy ways to do this so don’t worry too much about it!

And for those who enjoy singing along to songs, practicing using chords and scales will strengthen your voice and help you get familiar with the notes on the instrument.

Learn to use your inner voice

The second key element in getting better rhythm guitar is learning how to use your internal voice or what musician’s call it, your intuition. When you are playing an easy chord, for example, you can either play around with the notes or just stick to them.

If you choose the first option, then that is good! But if you have already learned the song and now you are trying to figure out the chords, then choosing the second option may be more helpful.

This way, your instinct will tell you when it is time to add some flavor by changing the tone or speed of one note or another. This happens when something feels wrong and so your mind adds other tones or different rhythms to make it sound right.

Become familiar with guitar chords

Chords are one of the most fundamental things you will learn as a guitarist! There are six main chord types that make up your music palette depending on what style of song you want to play.

Knowing how to play some chords is a starting place for getting better rhythm guitar. You can practice using simple, easy-to-follow steps that we will go over here.

There are many ways to approach learning chords. Some people start by teaching beginners the basics of barre chords or open position chords. These are good places to begin if you’re not sure which kind of chord structure looks the best on the songs you like.

Other students may instead choose to focus more on bass harmonic knowledge, knowing all five modes in order to fully understand how chords relate to each other.

Learn to sing into a microphone

A lot of guitarists cannot play rhythm because they can’t play along with a song! This is very frustrating as most songs have a rhythmic element, whether it be a simple drum beat or an easy bass line.

To learn how to play rhythm guitar you must first learn how to sing into a microphone. Most people are not trained in this technique, but it’s a valuable tool for musicians.

By training your ears to listen to music, and by singing into a microphone yourself, you’ll find that your skills will grow rapidly. You’ll also start to recognize what elements make up a good rhythm track and how to use them.

Rhythm is all about timing patterns, so practicing this skill will help you become a better guitarist.