Ever get bored playing rhythm guitar?
As guitarists, we likely spend around 80% of our time playing rhythm. And let’s face it, sometimes, it gets….boring. I don’t know about you but I don’t want to be bored ANYTIME while I’m playing. That’s why I’m always looking for little tweaks and tricks to add some life to my rhythm playing.
You could just chug along with the rhythm section. But, the best guitarists know how to mix a little lead in with their rhythm playing.
It’s what keeps things interesting.
Spice Things Up with Just Four Notes
It’s no secret by now, I’m big on the small things.
Some time ago, I started to notice these short, three or four note sequences that showed up everywhere in my playing. Because they are so short, these licks are easy to pepper into your rhythm without loosing the grove.
I call ’em micro licks because they’re super quick and insanely simple.
Keep It Simple
Don’t confuse simple and easy with boring. These easy acoustic blues licks, MICRO LICKS, that I’ll be sharing with you are anything but boring. For example, if you haven’t already, check out this bluesy lick based on the classic blues train whistle sound.
As a great follow up to the train whistle lick, lets look at a micro lick called Hammering Third.
Hammering Third is not just an attempt at a clever name, it’s a hint at what’s happening in this lick. Watch the video to hear this easy acoustic blues lick and see it broken down note-for-note.
Watch on YouTube | Grab the TAB PDF | Guitar Pro
Build on the Basics
The real magic of these tiny licks is two fold:
- They work great as beginnings and endings for entire solos
- They can easily be linked together to form longer licks
So time for the tough question…
Do every get bored playing rhythm guitar?
Leave your answer in the comments below.