"Rhythm Exercise # 1" by Michael Chodosh
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In order to practice your scales properly which is crucial in developing a sense of expression and proper timing you need to understand the different types of notes and a practical way of employing them in your studies.  To this end I have developed a simple exercise that we give to students usually during their very first lesson.

To Start:

You will need to understand what the different note values are.  I am (in this exercise) using the basic notes values but, that will be enough to get you started.  A great many books and teachers would not go as far as including eighth notes in the first study so don't be fooled.  This isn't easy.  After you get good at these notes you will be given triplets, sixteenths and then you can explore into sixteenth triplets and higher values if you like tremolo picking.  At the same time you will be introduced to the scales in positions further up the neck of the guitar.

The first group of notes will include: 

Whole notes, which look like footballs " () ", a hollow note.
Half notes, which look like footballs with stems, something like the above illustration (a hollow note) only with a stem " | " attached to it's top or to it's bottom.
Quarter notes, which look like whole notes that are filled in or like large periods with stems attached  and

Eighth notes, which look like quarter notes but the stems are either attached at the end by a bar, like a comb, or they have flags on the end of each of them.  Yes, flags, like flags blowing in the wind.

(below) music notation from a song.  The first note is a quarter note, then a half note followed by another quarter.  The "bar" (the line) indicates the end of the measure which means that 4 (in this case) beats have passed.  The next measure has 4 quarter notes and the last measure has a half note, a doted quarter (we will learn about those later) and finally, an eighth note which, standing alone has that flag that I told you about.  The stem and flag can also be above the note, not just below. In the next illustration we have a quarter note, two eighth notes (the flags are now together as one bar) another quarter and two more eights in the first measure.  The next measure has four quarter notes in it.

We will be using 4/4 time which means that there will be four beats in a measure and that the quarter note gets one beat.  4/4 means four/quarters, get it?  

Tap your foot and count out loud, "One, two, three, four, one, two, three, four, one, two . . . " just keep counting as you tap.  We will start with the whole note.  Play the open first string (the thinnest one).  This is the note "E".  Play the note picking down (toward the ground) as your foot hits the floor and as you count "one".  Let the note ring while you count "two, three, four" and then play it again as you count and tap on "one" again.  Keep doing this.  You are playing whole notes.  They are called whole notes because they ring or sustain throughout the "whole" measure.  Makes sense, doesn't it?

E:0---------------|0---------------|
B:----------------|----------------|
G:----------------|----------------|
D:----------------|----------------|
A:----------------|----------------|
E:----------------|----------------|
  1   2   3   4    1   2   3   4   

Half Notes

Same deal.  Tap your foot and count "One, Two, Three, Four" repetitively. Half notes each get half of the measure so there are two half notes in each four count measure.  Play each note on the "One" and on the "Three" count.

E:0-------0-------|0-------0-------|
B:----------------|----------------|
G:----------------|----------------|
D:----------------|----------------|
A:----------------|----------------|
E:----------------|----------------|
  1   2   3   4    1   2   3   4   

Quarter Notes

As I said, we are in 4/4 time so, 4/quarter notes. One on each beat.  Why am I emphasizing the 4/4 time "thing"?  Because later on the time signature will change for other styles of songs.  You might count up to three, as in a waltz. "1,2,3, 1,2,3" and so on.  As long as you understand that in music, anything can change with the taste of the listener or the performer.  So, go ahead, give this one a shot.  Play each quarter note on each beat.  Remember to pick downward.  You can change that too but not now, not yet.  

E:0---0---0---0---|0---0---0---0---|
B:----------------|----------------|
G:----------------|----------------|
D:----------------|----------------|
A:----------------|----------------|
E:----------------|----------------|
  1   2   3   4    1   2   3   4   

Eighth Notes

You guessed it.  There are eight eighth notes in a 4/4 measure.  We're beginning to sound like mathematicians, aren't we?!

Watch out!  Because there are eight notes but only four beats we have to subdivide the count.  That means that we will break each beat up into two sections. We will use the word "and" in between each number count. "1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &, 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &" so on.  Pick down on each number and up on each "&".  What you are doing is moving the pick with your foot.  Remember that.  This is called "alternate picking" and it is simple to keep up with if you tap your foot on the beat as you count and move the pick only in the direction that the foot is going.  Pick down as you count "1" and pick up as you say "&".  When you go back to quarter notes, half notes and whole notes, just go back to playing them all down as you tap that count.  I labeled each pick motion above the tablature, "d" for down and "u" for up. Now, play eighth notes.

  d u d u d u d u 
E:0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-|0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-|
B:----------------|----------------|
G:----------------|----------------|
D:----------------|----------------|
A:----------------|----------------|
E:----------------|----------------|
  1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &  1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 

We will play starting with the "slowest" notes, moving through each type until we get to the "fastest" of this study and then go back to where we started.  It is important that you practice slowing down, not just speeding up!  A good player stays centered by knowing how to slow his expressions down.  You will run into players that sound like they keep going faster and faster until they have nowhere else to go.  When you do, you should be able to use expressions to out play them or, "tear them up with whole notes", as a Berklee friend of mine used to say.

Here it is: I'm using the double symbols "*" for repeat signs.  That means (in this case) to repeat that measure (again, in this case) as many times as required for you to feel comfortable with that note before moving on to the next.  

E:-0---------------|0-------0-------|0---0---0---0---|
B:-----------------|----------------|----------------|
G:*---------------*|*--------------*|*--------------*|
D:*---------------*|*--------------*|*--------------*|
A:-----------------|----------------|----------------|
E:-----------------|----------------|----------------|
   1   2   3   4    1   2   3   4    1   2   3   4   

E:-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-|0---0---0---0---|0-------0-------|
B:-----------------|----------------|----------------|
G:*---------------*|*--------------*|*--------------*|
D:*---------------*|*--------------*|*--------------*|
A:-----------------|----------------|----------------|
E:-----------------|----------------|----------------|
   1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &  1   2   3   4    1   2   3   4   

E:-0---------------|
B:-----------------|
G:*---------------*|
D:*---------------*|
A:-----------------|
E:-----------------|
   1   2   3   4 

Achieve that dream!
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