How to Keep Timing on a Guitar
Solid timing is one of the most important elements of musicianship. Once you have learned scales and chords, altering the phrasing and pacing allows you to add extra character and dynamics to your playing. There are a number of techniques you can practice to keep your timing tight and solid. One technique is to use a metronome, a device that produces a constant "click," guiding musicians to play at a specific tempo. Mechanical and digital metronomes are available. Once you've mastered playing on the beat, you can play more effectively with other musicians and maximize the expressive impact of your phrasing.
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Instructions
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Practice a riff or scale until you can play it at about the tempo, or speed, you will need to match. Repeat it a number of times until you have the sequence of notes committed to your muscle memory, and you don't need to think about what you're playing.
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Set the metronome at a beat-per-minute rate about 10 points less than you want to eventually achieve. Listen to the click for four to eight beats and settle into the pace. Let the click of the metronome act as a count-in, and play the first note of the riff exactly on the click.
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Play the riff through until you can comfortably keep up with the click without panicking or fumbling notes. Increase the speed of the metronome by two to five beats per minute and try again, repeating the riff until you can keep up with the click.
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Continue repeating until you are up to full speed, and you can play the riff cleanly without mistakes. A good rule of thumb is that when you are able to repeat a phrase 10 times without a mistake, you really have it dialed in.
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Play along with pieces of music that have irregular or sharply syncopated rhythms, such as jazz or reggae. Practice moving the phrase forward and backward on the rhythm to make it sound urgent or laconic.
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References
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