COLUMNS
STRING THEORY
by Jimmy Brown
I GOT RHYTHM, PART 15
The dotted-eighths treadmill
For video of this lesson, go to GuitarWorld.com/April2021
MOVING ON FROM the “Kashmir”-style cyclical rhythms that we explored in the previous two lessons, I’d now like to venture deeper down the rabbit hole of 16th-note syncopations and present some additional ones that are part of the common vocabulary of modern music. The examples in today’s lesson are all based on chaining together dotted eighth-note accents into revolving patterns, which is something we had explored in I Got Rhythm, Parts 11 and 12 (see String Theory Holiday 2020 and January 2021). As such, they provide another batch of instructive exercises that bring to mind a few familiar songs. So put on your rhythmic running shoes and get ready to jump on the dottedeighths treadmill!