Now let's go ahead and apply what we learned in the last lesson. In the video above, you'll see me play the exercise at 126 bpm (beats per minute) and also at 156 bpm.
This exercise is primarily going to revolve around an E power chord. As far as the rhythmic note values that we'll be using, we'll be switching back and forth between eighth notes and sixteenth notes.
In the notation below, I want you to observe all the 8th note rests. Next, watch the video above and observe what I'm doing during those rests. Notice anything in particular with my left hand? I'm slapping my fingers on the strings during the rests. Doing so helps to prevent the notes from ringing out. If you want your rhythm playing to sound tight, you have to make sure there aren't any notes ringing out during the rests.
Lastly, watch out for the brief chord variations after every fourth bar of this exercise. You'll see these variations at the beginning of bars 5, 9, and 13.
Have the exercise down? Then head on over to the backing tracks! I've included two backing tracks for this exercise. The first backing is at 126 bpm, and the second is at 156 bpm.