Struggling with Rhythm? The only 3 Essentials to Know.
- Anubhav Kulshreshtha
- Apr 6
- 8 min read
Learning guitar today is more arbitrary than ever. If you haven’t already guessed the culprit, it’s short-form videos.
These bite-sized videos feel relevant, but from what I see in my guitar school, the impact is… mixed at best.
Sure, there’s more exposure. Students come in already familiar with diverse renditions of songs, hinting at greater genre flexibility. That’s great. But on the flip side, foundational skills have taken a hit.
I’ll be circling in on rhythm from a guitarist’s perspective—something that already seemed complicated back in the day but has now turned into an outright crisis.
Hopefully, this new perspective aids relations between guitar players and drummers worldwide.
Rhythm is often the most neglected aspect of guitar playing, yet paradoxically, it's the most important.
Consider this: Jimi Hendrix is remembered as much for his innovative rhythm playing in songs like "Little Wing" and "Voodoo Child" as for his solos. Jimmy Page's iconic riffs in "Kashmir" and "Black Dog" are masterclasses in rhythmic complexity. John Mayer, despite his pop reputation, built his career on impeccable rhythm, especially evident in his trio work.
Even Eddie Van Halen, often celebrated for his tapping technique, was first and foremost a rhythm innovator. His shuffling sixteenth notes on "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" created an entire school of hard rock rhythm playing.
As the legendary James Brown once told his guitarists: "Play the guitar like it's a drum!" This mindset shift alone could revolutionize your playing.
Assuming you're not a lefty guitar player, right hand is the one taking care of the rhythm—either with down strokes or up strokes… (unless you're Eddie Van Halen).
Thinking about rhythm as a binary system—down or up—makes it feel more natural.
That simplicity is comforting.
Rhythm is repelled by keen, unsettled, desperate attempts. Even the very fast-paced phrases are executed without a hint of tension. Any strain, mental or physical, hinders the fluidity.
Now, onto the technicalities...
We’re going to break rhythm down into three fundamental elements.
Why three? Because if you look at a staff notation sheet (which, as a musician, I hope you have—don’t let tabs take over your life), you’ll find three rhythmic indicators:
BPM (Beats Per Minute) – Found at the top, telling you how fast the song moves.
Time Signature – Located next to the clef, defining how beats are grouped.
Note Values – The black and hollow symbols inside the measures that determine the length of each note.
A quick rant on why sight-reading is crucial and strongly interrelated to rhythm…
The biggest difference between tabs and music notations? There’s no way traditional guitar tabs can convey rhythm.
This fact alone emphasizes that learning sheet music requires a core understanding of rhythm.
It’s not just about reading dots and lines—it’s about experiencing music in its most elemental form. It breaks everything down, piece by piece, and answers every lingering question or curiosity you might have.
And let’s be real, with the rise of short-form content and the endless scroll of bite-sized info, those knowledge gaps are abundant.
Looking at sheet music,
At the very top of the sheet music, you’ll find the BPM (beats per minute), where that little quarter note symbol equals a specific number. It's the tempo, heartbeat (feel) of the piece, and something you can easily set on a metronome.
The time signature is right next to it, snug by the treble or bass clef (you know, that fancy music symbol).
Then, inside those neat little boxes—the measures or bars—you’ll spot a variety of notes. Some are solid black, others are hollow, some are tied together, and some stand alone.
Every single one of those notes is rhythmically unique, and their appearance is a visual cue for how they’re meant to be played. When done right, together they groove!
That was raw theory, allow me to digress a bit now.
Sure, I get it—sheet music isn’t always the go-to in real-world scenarios (for rock musicians at least).
Sometimes, you’re expected to play by ear, transpose on the fly, or improvise like a pro.
Those are undeniably practical skills. But here’s the thing: having that rock-solid foundation? That deep understanding of what’s happening on the staff? It pays off. Big time.
Note values, time signatures, and BPM—three core elements that make up the rhythmic DNA of any piece.
And let’s not forget, music isn’t just about the notes; it’s also about the silence.
Those pauses, those breaths—they’re part of the rhythm too, and there are even special symbols to mark them.
But for now, let’s keep it simple: BPM, time signature, and note values are the holy trinity of sheet music.
Feel, Flow, and Groove
During the last section, I referred to BPM, time signature, and note values as feel, flow, and groove, respectively.
These terms are used interchangeably, especially ‘feel’ (an over-utilized adjective in the musician community), yet they are the closest unofficial match I could come up with…
A song is either slow or fast (BPM) with a certain phrasing (Time Signature) garnished with various note values.
In general, BPM rarely changes, whereas time signatures change often out of mainstream genres. Note values are mostly varying, as no one wants to listen to a song full of quarter notes.
BPM
Alright, BPM first—it’s the easiest one to wrap your head around, especially if you’ve ever been to a live concert. You know that moment when the crowd starts clapping along to the music?
Sometimes it’s slower, sometimes faster, but there’s usually this uniform, recurring rhythm everyone locks into. It’s not some complex, all-over-the-place clapping—it’s simple, steady, and almost like a heartbeat.
That’s BPM in action. It’s the pulse, the core timing of the song.
Think of it as the drummer’s metronome ticking away in their earpiece, keeping everything in line. A lot of the time, the audience is clapping right on the BPM, syncing with the heartbeat of the song.
Now, if you’re listening to a track and you start tapping along—maybe slow, maybe fast—it doesn’t matter as long as it’s consistent. If you can keep that tap going without losing the thread, you’re connecting with the song rhythmically.
You’re feeling its pulse, its checkpoints. It’s the most natural way to describe it: the heartbeat of the song. And if you can’t lock into that? Well, you might just kill the vibe.
The concept of strict tempo is relatively modern. In medieval and Renaissance music, tempo was often fluid, changing with the emotion of the piece. The metronome was invented by Johann Maelzel in 1815, and only then did musicians begin thinking about exact BPMs. Before that, tempo markings were descriptive: Adagio (slowly), Allegro (quickly), etc.
Take Indian classical concerts, for example. You’ll often see performers visibly keeping track of this pulse, tapping it out upfront. They’ll weave in their own improvisations, their own moments, but they always land back on those checkpoints. It’s part of the tradition, part of the loaning decorum. So whether you’re tapping, clapping, or just swaying along, staying in sync with the song is key.
Note Values
Let’s say you’re walking along with a metronome, matching its beat perfectly. That’s quarter notes—one tap per beat. But you can also go twice per beat (eighth notes) or four times (sixteenth notes).
Each of these got a name, but let’s not get too technical.
The core idea? If a song used just one note value, it’d be boring as hell. Rhythm gets interesting when you mix things up. Some bands go wild with weird note values, but in pop music, you’re mostly dealing with eighth notes.
If you’re practicing guitar, working through drills with these different note values and a metronome will give you plenty to chew on. It’s where things start getting fun, and your fingers inevitably grow stronger.
The standardization of note values we use today evolved during the Renaissance period. Before printed music became common, note values were less precise. The development of printing technology directly influenced how rhythm was notated and conceptualized!
Time Signature
I left this for last because, honestly, it takes a bit more effort to wrap your head around.
For me, the breakthrough came from intentionally listening to playlists of songs in specific time signatures. YouTube’s a goldmine for this—search for playlists in 3/4, 4/4, 6/8, or even 7/8, and just soak it in.
It’s the most non-technical way to get a feel for it. Sure, there are drills and exercises, but my top recommendation? Just listen. Let the songs teach you.
One big revelation for me was realizing that time signatures often depend on accents and melody.
Let me break that down. Take Google’s metronome, for example. If you search for it, you’ll find one that just ticks away with the same sound over and over—no accents, no variation.
I’ve asked students what time signature it’s in, and the answers are all over the place. But here’s the kicker: it doesn’t have a time signature. Why? Because there’s no accent or melody to break it down, to draw a line between the beats.
It’s almost philosophical when you think about it. But hopefully, that gives you something to chew on when it comes to understanding time signatures.
Common Time Signatures:
4/4: The standard in rock, pop, blues, and most Western music. Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog," AC/DC's "Back in Black"
3/4: Waltz time, feels like ONE-two-three, ONE-two-three. Jimi Hendrix's "Manic Depression"
6/8: Queen's "We Are The Champions", Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters”
5/4: Odd but memorable. Dave Brubeck's "Take Five"
7/8: Sting, “Seven Days”
When Guitar Met Odd Time Signatures
In the 1970s, progressive rock bands like King Crimson, Yes, and Rush began incorporating odd time signatures into their music, challenging the dominance of 4/4 time in popular music.
Alex Lifeson of Rush, in particular, demonstrated how a rock guitarist could navigate complex time signatures while maintaining accessibility. In "Tom Sawyer," the band shifts between 4/4 and 7/8 time, creating that distinctive, lurching feel in the instrumental sections.
For guitar players, these bands opened up new possibilities. Rather than seeing odd time signatures as academic exercises, they became tools for creative expression. Today, bands like Animals As Leaders take this concept even further, with guitarist Tosin Abasi crafting intricate compositions in constantly shifting meters.
Stop scrolling, start strumming!
Rhythm can be looked at from different perspectives, and more than one can be correct. There’s no strict right or wrong. For example, if you’re playing along with a metronome set to 80 BPM in quarter notes, that’s one thing. But if you set the metronome to 40 BPM and keep your playing speed the same, you’re now dealing with eighth notes.
Even in the studio, some players prefer the metronome in quarter notes, while others might go for eighth notes, depending on the song and their comfort level. It’s multidimensional, and that’s where it can get a little complicated.
Rhythm is something you feel. Whether you’re tapping it out, clapping, or even speaking it out (which is the easiest because your throat’s part of your body—no external control needed), it’s all about connecting with that pulse.
So start simple. Tap it out. Speak it out. Let your body sync up with the music, and rest will follow.
It’s something you feel. It’s something you flow with. And ultimately, it’s something that grooves.
Many guitarists obsess over speed or flashy licks.
The best players in history—Hendrix, Page, Mayer, Prince, Van Halen—were all killer rhythm players first. If you can master the Big 3—Feel, Flow, and Groove—your playing will transcend technical ability and truly move people.
Say Bye!
Anubhav Kulshreshtha
Comments