Timing

tommy79 · #1 May 6th, 2008

How important is timing to playing the chords,they all seem to run together. where can we learn the power chords?

tomg123 · #2 May 7th, 2008

Timing is very important for anything you play. Chords suggest rhythm and rhythm is basically timing

johnnydoxx · #3 May 7th, 2008

Not sure exactly what you mean by timing.

One 'meaning' is making the chord changes at the time when they should change (to agree with the melody). I don't think there's any way to say that don't matter - it really, really matters.

Another 'meaning' is to keep the beat correct. I.e., keep the 1-2-3-4 and 1&2&3&4& correct measure after measure. Well that's important too.
Often at jam sessions we get people who skip on to the next note, a few beats early, when there is some gap between notes. It isn't a catastrophe but it makes the song sound uncomfortable.
OK for jams, but a band will let you know about that if you do it consistently, especially the bassman and drummer.

Not sure what you might mean that they all run together.

tommy79 · #4 May 8th, 2008

what I mean is when you play a 16th,8th,1/4 1/2,note is when they seem to run all together. Can you please tell me what fake chords are? And where can we learn the power chords through the neck?

johnnydoxx · #5 May 9th, 2008

Can't help with the questions. Still don't understand what is meant by 'run together'. How do the 16th and 8th run together? Do you mean the 16th keeps ringing after the 8th is begun?

tommy79 · #6 May 9th, 2008

after you play the 16th or 8th, or whatever note you play right after each other thats what I mean about running together It doesnt seem to be a period of pause in between.

starsailor · #7 May 9th, 2008

Hi Tommy 79, here's some lessons and info. on power chords, hope it helps

Guitar Power Chord Lesson

Cheers

Chris

starsailor · #8 May 9th, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by tommy79

what I mean is when you play a 16th,8th,1/4 1/2,note is when they seem to run all together. Can you please tell me what fake chords are? And where can we learn the power chords through the neck?

Power chords are really fake chords as they don't give you the proper chord, you can learn power chords but it depends where you want to go with your playing, they can lead you down a blind alley and you might hit problems working with other guitarists who want to play proper chords but it's up to the individual to choose what's best for them, everyone has different approaches to what they want from guitar playing.

There are also books called fake books, they give you a simple melody notation and just the name of the chord ie G and let the musician have a free reign with the song.

tommy79 · #9 May 9th, 2008

So what should I learn?

X4StringDrive · #10 May 9th, 2008

Are you referring to standard notation or tabs when you mention playing right after each other? Notation along with the time signature will help you with the timing intended.... tab {or tablature} usually will not give any help in that department, they're more for use if you already are familiar with how the tune flows

And maybe what your referring to about fake chords are those in a fake book like Starsailor mentioned, where the chords presented are basic chords to a tune to help "fake" your way through it. Fake book chords along with a simple melody can produce a reasonable or passable rendition although not a "as recorded" or as a "heard on radio" version, basically they{the chords & or notes} give the progression & or the basic melody used and not much more info...if I made any sense with that.

"Simple" power chords are two note chords, usually consisting of the "Root" and the "fifth" of the key, if you understood that then you should be good to go, if that sounded foreign then it's time to brush up on the names of the notes and their position on the fretboard along with keys and intervals

starsailor · #11 May 9th, 2008

It's only my opinion but I'd get the basic chords down and work on the changes for them, the power chords will be useful as they get your hands moving around the fretboard so that will benefit you Tommy and also help with getting used to changes and timing, what kind of music do you like? I had a book when I started off but I didn't like the songs in it and I wanted to play songs by bands I liked, I learnt a a few chords and then looked for songs with those chords in them and after a month or so I could play those songs I wasn't great but I could recognize the song so I knew I'd made progress, you need a bit of structure in your practice though that's the best way forward so you need to have an idea of what you want to achieve from learning guitar and remember what made you want to play guitar, it's also important to enjoy practicing, if nothing's going right in a session it's best to walk away and relax a bit otherwise you'll go nuts, we do have to practice but we also need to enjoy doing it.

johnnydoxx · #12 May 10th, 2008

On notes running together, I get it now. you want to play a 16th but it ends up ringing too long.

I'm not a lead player, so can't help there. I have some ideas but don't want to speculate and give wrong advice. I think there might be something in Kirk's lessons.

On the question of what you should learn, the others have given good advice.