# AL DiMeola rhythm lesson in GT.



## distressed_romeo (Dec 7, 2007)

There's an awesome Al DiMeola video interview in the new issue of Guitar Techniques (the one with ZZ Top on the cover), where he breaks down how he develops those cool syncopated rhythms. Seriously inspiring stuff...


----------



## Apophis (Dec 7, 2007)

Thanks for info


----------



## kung_fu (Dec 7, 2007)

In case you didn't know, RTF are going to be getting back together for some shows Al Di Meola, The Official Website, www.aldimeola.com 

Is this the lesson?


----------



## jacksonplayer (Dec 13, 2007)

kung_fu said:


> In case you didn't know, RTF are going to be getting back together for some shows



I heard about that--that is so freakin' awesome!!  

I'm getting to an age where I don't feel like travelling to see many shows anymore but this is one I will totally travel to NYC to see, if necessary. I might even catch a few shows here and there.

BTW, is that some fucking sick playing in that video, or what? The scary thing is, Al's just casually tossing out some licks there.


----------



## Quicksilver689 (Dec 13, 2007)

shane gibson has a similar lesson on the Chops From Hell Website - I've always really liked those cool syncopated lines - watch the vid here:

http://www.chopsfromhell.com/gibsonshane3_ex1.mpg


----------



## 777 (Dec 13, 2007)

so what hes saying is in your 1-2-3-4 you should try playing wher the (-) is ? and always tap your foot while you play


----------



## distressed_romeo (Dec 14, 2007)

777 said:


> so what hes saying is in your 1-2-3-4 you should try playing wher the (-) is ? and always tap your foot while you play



Basically, yeah. What he's getting is that rather than relying on 'feeling' rhythms, you should always make sure you have an internal clock going marking the downbeats, so if you want to play really complex, syncopated rhythms, you'll always know where each note lies relative to the downbeat.

Since I started working at this, it's made complex rhythms MUCH more accessible, so it's something worth cultivating in your own playing. It makes transcribing rhythms much easier as well.


----------



## Luan (Dec 14, 2007)

you know what I mean


----------



## jacksonplayer (Dec 14, 2007)

777 said:


> so what hes saying is in your 1-2-3-4 you should try playing wher the (-) is ? and always tap your foot while you play



Distressed Romeo is right on about this, but I would also add that Al's saying that most of the interesting stuff that a player can do is going to happen between the beats rather than right on them. 

I don't know what Al sounded like pre-RTF (because I don't think he recorded anything before that), but he clearly got a lot of that from Chick Corea, and Al basically admits that in this clip. Listen to Corea's rhythm playing, and you can hear the same principle. He *could* play right on the beats, but his rhythms are far more interesting because he doesn't. He leaves the beat to the rhythm section and plays against them much of the time. For a very good example, listen to the title track of RTF's "Romantic Warrior" album.

Of course, "Romantic Warrior" is pretty much a good example of everything that is good about music.


----------



## Holy Katana (Dec 14, 2007)

What is that guitar? It looks like an Ibanez. Maybe he's got an endorsement deal with them now or something.


----------



## distressed_romeo (Dec 15, 2007)

The guitar's apparently a Starfield (a short-lived Ibanez off-shoot) that he borrowed from the guy interviewing him.


----------



## Holy Katana (Dec 15, 2007)

distressed_romeo said:


> The guitar's apparently a Starfield (a short-lived Ibanez off-shoot) that he borrowed from the guy interviewing him.



Aww, man. I was hoping for an Ibanez ADMM next year. Although he seems quite happy with PRS at the moment.


----------



## DDDorian (Dec 24, 2007)

I just wanna chime in and say that I this mag finally arrived yesterday, complete with big "EXPRESS INTERNATIONAL DELIVERY - AT YOUR DOOR WITHIN 48 HOURS" sticker on the front, heh. I'll tab out Al's lesson sometime in the near future, for those with Guitar Pro


----------

