When learning how to play guitar, one of the first things you will need is some equipment! While not everyone needs this information at the moment, it’s important to be prepared for when your dreams truly do come true and you are able to purchase your own guitar.

Good rhythm guitars are pretty expensive, so don’t worry about spending too much money up front unless you know what settings work best for you. Many people begin by buying a simple model before moving onto more complicated ones as they learn more about the instrument.

This article will go into detail about all the different components of a rhythm guitar and how to set them up properly. So put down that book and get started! If anything in these tips seems difficult or confusing, hop onto YouTube to watch a demonstration. There are plenty of great online resources available.

Disclaimer

The content in this article was created in partnership with JamPlay, a beginner guitar lesson website. The material here can include links to products on Amazon, which helps support our site and team. Viewers should make their decisions after reading materials en masse and at their own risk.

Become a 'Drummer 4/4 Life' with our exclusive JA t-shirt!

Show your dedication to rhythm with our unique 'Drummer 4/4 Life' t-shirt. Proudly display a music staff with the 4/4 time signature, the heart of most popular music beats. This piece of Jam Addict attire not only makes a bold statement about your passion for drumming, but it also lets you be a part of the JA community, a team dedicated to fostering musicians for years.

You should also read our disclaimer page. We strive to help readers find the most helpful info via natural means, free of additives and false promises. All items listed on our site are from verifiable sources and we never promote something if we cannot verify the quality ourselves.

Use a metronome

A rhythm guitar is any string that can be picked up or down, depending on what chord you are playing. The best way to learn how to play a rhythm guitar is by using a good quality device such as a metronome!

A metronome helps create a steady pulse so your music does not sound choppy and uneven. It also gives you a clear understanding of when the next note will fall so you can prepare for it.

You can use the metronome to help teach yourself how to strum patterns, bass lines, chords, and even drum beats! All of these have a regular pattern in them so the metronome can easily identify when each one falls.

There are many types of metronomes out there, but the most common ones do not cost more than $20. You should be able to find one at your local store or online shop.

Use a click track

A rhythm guitar part is any chord progression that does not have lyrics. Chord progressions with lyrics are referred to as songs.

A rhythm guitar part can be anything from one note to eight notes, depending on the length of the song.

The hardest thing about playing rhythm guitar is figuring out how to make the chords feel natural for the ear.

There are two main things you can do to play a rhythm guitar line efficiently: use a steady bass drum beat or an existing rhythmic pattern like a groove or meter.

Use a backing track

A rhythm guitar part is not like a lead guitar part, where you can easily play one note and have a song! That is why it is called a “rhythm” guitar part.

A rhythm guitar part typically uses more notes in a pattern that repeats itself throughout the song. This pattern is usually either an alternating bass line or a steady beat.

The hardest thing about playing a rhythm guitar part is figuring out how to start each chord. There are many ways to do this, but the best way depends on what style of music you want to learn to play.

For example, if you wanted to learn blues-style chords, then your starting chord will be the major second (or sometimes called the harmonic minor) chord. If you wanted to learn jazz-style chords, then your first chord would be the natural third. And if you wanted to learn funk-style chords, then your first chord would be the dominant seventh chord.

There are several good resources available online and through books that teach you how to use different types of chord progressions for beginners.

Use a drum machine

A rhythm guitar is any stringed instrument that you use to play rhythmic patterns or licks. The most common types of guitars used in this fashion are the electric guitar, bass guitar, and acoustic guitar.

To learn how to set up rhythm guitar using an internal device such as a computer or drum machine, first make sure your guitar has at least five strings. Then, purchase either pre–made chord templates or software that helps create chords for you to match the notes with the right number of strings!

Once those two things have been done, it’s time to pick your song! Find a short section of music that contains a steady beat and add some rhythm guitar licks to fill out the space between the note sets.

Use a piano

A good place to start is by using a piano as your rhythm guitar. You can use either an acoustic or digital piano, both of which have keyboards that have white notes for one hand and black notes for the other.

By having two hands with different colors, you’re given more color palette options than just shades of gray! Plus, it creates some interesting rhythmic patterns since each hand has its own set of keys.

You can play along with any song you want on the keyboard, so there’s no need to learn how to play pre-recorded songs first. Just pick a chord and let yourself get into the groove!

Rhythm guitars are not limited to playing only chords, but this way you can begin developing your skills in terms of musical theory and music structure.

Use another guitarist

It is very helpful to have someone who already rhythm guitar knows help you get your feet wet when it comes to learning how to play guitar in time!
As mentioned before, practicing with music can be tricky at first due to there being no lyrics or vocals for songs to use as cues.

But having an experienced musician help you will definitely make things more efficient and effective. They may even give you some tips and tricks of their own that work for them.

Another great way to learn how to play rhythm guitar quickly is by listening to lots of different styles of music and figuring out what patterns and rhythms are used frequently.

Record your own beat

The next step in developing your rhythm guitar skills is recording your own beats! This can be done quickly with most digital music software such as GarageBand or ProTools. By creating your own rhythms, you’re starting to develop your creativity as a songwriter.

You can take any chord structure (or no chords at all) and create a simple bass line or groove. Add some percussion instruments like drums or claps and you have yourself an ear-training exercise!

Music theory is very helpful when writing songs, so do not hesitate to look up terms like modulation, parallel motion, etc. When practicing this technique, add different textures and styles of music to learn more about how they use rhythm and licks.

Slow down your recording

A second way to set up rhythm guitar is by using a slow, steady approach. This can be done either by having someone else play some chords for you or by playing a chord pattern yourself that are slowly descending in lenth.

The first example of this would be if you were writing a song about how much your friend/lover loves you. You could use a slow descenting bass line as their love for you is clearly shown throughout the lyrics.