Hi all.
I was asked a question in the Whatsapp chat group by Sarah about learning a pattern and getting the timing correct.
I thought the conversation might be useful for others here in the Community.
Sarah:
I keep thinking about getting the timing right. Some of the patterns you showed us yesterday were “easier” and the others not so much 
I usually don’t struggle too much with timing (thanks to being a dancer lots of years ago), but this time it’s tricky. Do you think I could use Justin’s Strumming Machine to get the right tempo? Or do you have a suggestion regarding a metronome? I’m using a spark mini amp, there’s a metronome in there somewhere
Thanks in advance!
Richard:
@~Sarah I agree that some of the patterns fall under our fingers and within our natural sense of rhythm and counting more readily - they are, as you say, ‘easier’. If you are learning a new pattern, or applying it to a chord progression, or blending two patterns, or doing anything that you find to be complex and requiring a lot of concentration, I would avoid the metronome altogether.
There is no more ruthless taskmaster than a metronome. It does not allow for wobbles or errors or beginner lapses. It keeps going and does not wait for you to catch up. If you are in need of learning the mechanics of a pattern, do not make it harder by running a metronome. Allow yourself to do it in ‘free time’.
You could try different approaches to counting. In the live session I counted with numbers and &s exclusively. If it helps you could use the words Down and Up. Even though you are not strumming and the motion / movement is not necessarily down or up, it is a familiar way of saying out loud words that help you determine the beats and the off-beats. You could even use the names of the colours I added to the graphics for the quarters and eighths. Count using Green and Blue in the appropriate places.
Example … pattern 15 could be
1 & _ & 3 _ 4 &
or
Down Up _ Up Down _ Down Up
or
Blue Green _ Blue Green _ Blue Blue
Anything that helps you visualise the rhythm and the spacing of the notes and their duration.
I hope that helps.
Laurence:
Try clapping the tempo, or even drumming with a pencil, that works for me.
But say the beats out loud.
1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and
1 e and a 2 e and a
Etc.
I recently bought the JG rhythm training book. Its real.useful for this 
Sarah:
That helps a lot, thanks!
I think one thing that makes it difficult for me is the fact that I know some notes are longer than others. And that’s something that works “without language” which means that my “German brain” starts thinking. Which is a problem because in school (learning everything in German), I couldn’t get this stuff right or understand it. How do I know how long “a bit longer” is? The maths is easy, the correct timing is not.
Learning to play the guitar in English is a massive difference so far as it seems that my brain can learn this stuff “from scratch” thanks to the language not being German. But as soon as something comes along that uses too little language, I struggle.
But I’ll simply try it as you say: Without metronome. Maybe just tapping my foot along and counting deliberately instead of just in my head. Using as much language as I can, so to speak 
Thanks a lot!
I think really saying things out loud will help. The pencil stuff is another idea, thanks! I just worry that I can do the pencil stuff after practicing for a bit and then when I try to transfer that skill to the strings, I’ll struggle once again. Tapping and picking are a bit different, at least in my head. But hey, if I don’t try it out, I won’t know, right? 
Richard:
Tapping your feet - yes, yes, yes. Also - I constantly encourage my students to count out loud as they play any rhythm. Get the rhythm out. Don’t keep it in.
Say what you play. Play what you say.
Tapping with a pencil, clapping your hands, banging your fingers on the body of your guitar … all of these things are good at establishing when a note should be played. I do have one reservation with it in terms of the type of fingerstyle we were using in Club #29 though. Those percussive hits have no sustain. The sound has a quick decay. They tell you when a note should start but not its duration… If you use those methods it will help but you need to be aware of the spacing of the notes and be able to allow for the length of time a note lasts even though you do not hear it continue beyond its first impact.
Get ready for the next instalment of Vintage fun.
