John offers rhythm guitar chord lessons to semi-pro and pro guitarists to a very high standard. Different styles need totally different technique application to master the rhythm guitar sounds required.

Rhythm is obviously a time thing but not many guitar players realise that to perform rhythm to a high standard, it is crucial your technique is hot! It is still possible, even with bad technique, to fit into a groove and keep your band and the audience happy. But between you and yourself, there are no secrets. You know that if the guitar was recorded alone, it would sound terrible.

Rhythm has to be understood intellectually and mathematically as a progression that has a callibrated division of the number 1. In other words, divide 1 bar or 1 beat into 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 etc.. then start missing out 1 unit of the division at a time. The rest is permutations and combinations which have to be memorised as a feel. Meter is crucial in rhythm and is your ability to sense time in even spaces. You can be behind the beat, on the beat or push the beat.

If you understand how jazz harmony is applied to chord mapping on a guitar, then you have a larger choice of interesting chord voicings. Chord formulas, scales, arpeggios etc.. have to be at your fingertips. So music theory on tap is extremely useful. Mizarolli worked with Earth, Wind and Fires Horn and Rhythm Section.

So Al Mckay had a great influence on his funk guitar rhythms. Hendrix rhythm styles are also part of Johns syncopated repertoire. He worked on the LA black music scene solid for many years. Whether African, American, Jamaican, Latin, Jazz etc... a serious right hand is always an ace in playing snappy chords.

Rock, Heavy Metal and Classic Rock Chords are a different bag of tricks based on double-stops or intervals. If you want that machine gun metal sound, it's another world again. Mizarolli is pretty wild as a rhythm chord player and some say he has gone further than Hendrix in many ways in a few areas of guitar.

John is a chord expert, maybe you could phone him to discuss his cosmic guitar course. Check out his rhythm guitar chords lessons! Meanwhile, turn your speakers on and enjoy a taste of his Rock Funk Masterpiece Space Circus featuring Brett Morgan on drums, Henry Thomas on bass and John on guitar and vocals.