Guitar 101 Lesson B - Mastering Rhythm & Syncopation Part 2: 16th Notes Rests and Dotted Rhythms

This section of the Guitar 101 series of lessons is divided into five parts to give you the best possible grounding in the basics of guitar playing.

These introductory parts will cover the following components of Mastering Rhythm and Syncopation:

Part 1 - Whole, Half, Quarter and Eighth Notes

Part 2 - 16th Notes, Rests and Dotted Rhythms

Part 3 - Triplets and Hemiola

Part 4 - More Fun With Triplets and Hemiola

Part 5 - Quintuplets and Nightmare Licks

In part 1, we learned how to count and play basic rhythms in 4/4 time and subdivide beats into eighth notes by counting "one and, two and, three and, four and, one and, two and, three and, four and," etc. We also learned how to create syncopation by using ties to combine rhythmic values (durations) in order to emphasize the "weak" parts of the measure-such as the eighth-note upbeats (the "and" counts). In this lesson we're going to expand our rhythmic vocabulary and learn how to count and read 16th notes, rests and dotted rhythms. We're also going to learn a very useful practicing technique that can help you sight-read transcriptions more easily and accurately.

You can enjoy the rest of this lesson and access the related tabs and audio files at Guitar World Magazine - Guitar 101.