Here Are 3 Dotted Rhythm Hacks I Won’t Keep Secret

When you first encounter dotted rhythms, they can seem so difficult.

A dot adds half the value of the note it follows.

So a dotted eighth note is equal to an eighth note plus a sixteenth note.

But what does a passage like this sound like?

You might just try playing through the passage over and over again.

But if you aren’t sure how it should sound, you may keep playing it wrong.

Here are three hacks that help:

1. Clap the Subdivision

If you want to play a dotted eighth and sixteenth, start by clapping steady sixteenths.

Then accent the first and fourth sixteenths.

Then drop the second and third sixteenths.

There’s the dotted rhythm!

2. Play the Subdivision

Now put the same thing on the guitar.

Play steady sixteenths.

Then accent the first and fourth sixteenths.

Then drop the second and third sixteenths.

Now you’re playing a dotted rhythm on guitar!

3. Use Metronome as Subdivision

Set the metronome at the tempo you want your sixteenth notes to be.

Play the original passage, playing only on the first and fourth clicks.

You’ve got it!

Keep making music!