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Rhythms Volume Two-Music-Rhythm-Series-by Bruce Arnold for Muse Eek Publishing Company

Bruce Arnold’s Rhythms Volume Two

One of the best books on the market for developing sixteenth note syncopated rhythms.

Bruce Arnold says that sixteenth note rhythms are crucial for playing modern funk, rock and R & B, but sixteenth note grooves are also some of the hardest rhythms to play accurately. Finding material to develop this skill isn’t easy and the midi files that are downloadable for each exercise in Rhythms Volume Two really help you to develop a high level of accuracy.

Developing your sixteenth note groove is also essential for playing many popular tunes.

Here are a few examples of classic songs that use sixteenth note syncopation:

“Walk this way” by AeroSmith
“Let it Be” by The Beatles
“Over the hills and far away” by Led Zeppelin
“Two Princes” by Spin Doctors
“Brick House” by The Commodores
“Tell me Something Good” by Rufus and Chaka Khan
“Sweet Emotion” by AeroSmith
“Mista’ Cool” by Brothers Johnson
“Do that Stuff” by Parliament
“Love TKO” by Teddy Pendergrass
“Funny the Way it is” by Dave Matthews
“Jungle Boogie” by Kool and the Gang
“Sympathy for the Devil” by The Rolling Stones
“Sweet Thing” by Rufus and Chaka Khan
“Beat it” by Michael Jackson
“Home” by Joe Satriani
“Car Wash” by Rose Royce
“As Tears go by” by The Rolling Stones
“Funk it” by Brothers Johnson
“All The Long” by Lionel Richie
“My Cherie Amour” by Stevie Wonder
“Kasmir” by Led Zeppelin

As you can see from the list above if you want to understand modern music you need to know sixteenth note rhythms. Take each exercise in Rhythms Volume Two and play it along with the aforementioned songs and you will really develop your sixteenth note skill. But the best part is IT’S FUN!!

Why is Rhythms Volume Two one of the best sixteenth notes books on the market?

Rhythms Volume Twotakes you through 120 pages of syncopated sixteenth note rhythms. This book covers all possible syncopations within one measure of 4/4 so you are sure to cover all the rhythms you might run into in modern music.

Sixteenth Note grooves are dance grooves. Get your audience up and dancing when you master these irresistible beats.

Traditionally sixteenth notes grooves have been the hardest for musicians to master. But if you just spend 10 minutes of practicing a day from Rhythms Volume Two you will see massive improvement in this very area.

Ask yourself these questions:

Do I feel my rhythm falls apart when I playing sixteenth note grooves?
When I have to read sixteenth note charts to I get totally lost?
Do I have a tendency to speed up or slow down when I play sixteenth note rhythms?
Do I lack rhythmic diversity when I’m soloing or writing music that have a sixteenth note groove?
When I’m transcribing music do I find it hard to figure out rhythms?
If someone shows me a sixteenth note rhythm do I have a hard time duplicating the sound?
Is it hard for me to translate sixteenth note rhythms I hear into rhythm notation?
Do I have a hard time getting a musical flow happening when I’m playing or improvising with sixteenths?

Sixteenth Note Rhythms are Often a Problem for Musicians

Again sixteenth notes is one of the more difficult rhythmic levels, and many musicians have a problem with it. It’s also one of the reasons that musicians may have a hard time playing fast. If you don’t have a true concept of sixteenth notes you won’t be able to play fast. Rhythms Volume Two contains some of the best ways to help you improve these aspects of your playing through targeted exercises. These will help you to:

Improve sixteenth note accuracy.
Develop a larger vocabulary of rhythms so that your aren’t always playing the same few rhythms over and over.
Improve your speed.
Write out the rhythms if you are a composer wishing to publish your music.
Develop a more responsive interaction with your band members because you are able to react to their rhythmic phrasing.
Find the sixteenth note rhythms that cause you problems so that you can practice and master them before they trip you up when you are paying with others.

Don’t forget, Pitch and Rhythm are two crucial aspects of modern music:

People pick up on rhythmic inaccuracies very quickly and because there are four sixteenths per beat it is even more obvious if you loss the beat. Don’t put yourself into embarrassing situations where you find out in a very public way that you can’t play a sixteenth note groove. Just a few minutes a day can solve this problem and give you the confidence that you can perform well.

If you have basic reading skills the Rhythms Volume Two is the perfect book for you.

If you are just getting started with Rhythm get the Rhythm Primer first but if you know how to read rhythms and just want to hone your skills with sixteenth notes then Rhythms Volume Two will give you:

120 pages of exercises to develop your sixteenth note skills.
Exercises using just one pitch so you can really concentrate of learning the rhythms
Downloadable free audio examples of each exercise in the form of midi files. Midi files give you control over the tempo making it a perfect kind of file to use with these exercises.

Develop your rhythmic skills in a logical way.

Rhythm is commonly organized on four metric levels. It is imperative that you know these levels and the rhythms that are commonly played. Rhythms Volume Two helps you develop this sense by giving you targeted sixteenth note exercises that will get you in the groove.

Develop an overall understanding of how rhythm is organized.

Rhythms Volume Two and the whole Rhythm Series of books (16 books) develop your rhythmic skills to a high level. Rhythms Volume Two can be used by anyone who understands how to read basic rhythms. Of course advanced musicians can use it too because the speed of the exercises will determine the difficulty. You will attain the following skills by reading through this book:

Improved speed and accuracy.
A wider vocabulary of sixteenth note rhythms.
The ability to maintain the same tempo without speeding up or slowing down.
An understanding of how music is put together rhythmically.
Greater speed and accuracy in your playing
Ability to interact with other musicians on a deeper level.

Remember rhythmic accuracy is the key to having your listeners up and dancing and being totally engrossed in your music.

Our bodies respond to rhythmic accuracy and feel uncomfortable when it’s not there. Rhythms Volume Two and the whole Rhythm series develops this accuracy through targeted exercises. Just a few minutes a day can develop these skills so don’t put it off. Add a 10 minute exercise each day and have people rocking to your music in no time.

Get started with Rhythms Volume Two today and get your groove on!

Add digital copy to cart – $9.99

What people are saying:

This book completely kick my behind. Not only was reading difficult for me, but I never could play anything that had a sixteenth note pulse. But using this book with songs that Mr. Arnold recommended really helped me to keep at it. Just sitting and reading rhythms is completely boring for me. I’ve tried for years and I usually make it about one week before I lose interest. Mr. Arnold’s concept of playing these exercises along with real music changed that. Bruce recommended I first just learn a few measures and see if I could play it through “Honky Tonk Women” by The Rolling Stones. Bruce explained that even though this tune had a eighth note metric level if I just played it half as fast I could play the sixteenths and not be overwhelmed. I spent about a month taking different rhythms from the book and playing through the song with them. It worked great! I then moved on to “Angie” by The Rolling Stones. I can now play those sixteenth note acoustic guitar fills that have eluded me for years. Thanks Bruce for all your help. I really feel like I made a lot of progress from your recommendations. C. Toms
Rhythm and especially reading rhythm has always been a weak point for me. I heard about using Mr. Arnold’s book with the free midifiles and how I could check my accuracy and so I decided to try it. I just would loop 4 measures in Garage Band and work them out and then the next four etc… I was surprised how productive this was. I also started playing the exercises with my favorite tunes and that was a real eye opener. If you have run away from practicing rhythm and learning how to read it, give these books a try I found them to be a breath of fresh air. So far I’ve worked through three books, the Primer and Rhythms Vol 1 and 2. I did everything pretty slow so I’m going to go through them again at a faster tempo, which I can do because the midi files are at my command, speed-wise. I feel that this has been a real help to get me over this rhythmic slump that I’ve been in for years. V. Henry
I’m a guitarist and I totally get off on the funk music from the 70’s. James Brown was one of my favorite artists. “Get up Offa That Thing” just kills me. I contacted Bruce to see if he could help me get it together to play the guitar parts and he just zoomed in on what I needed. He recommended I start with Rhythm Primer pages 19 to 27 and play the rhythms with the tune “The Payback” by James Brown. The idea was to first master one measure of sixteenth notes and then play that same rhythm throughout the whole song. Bruce explained that “The Payback” was a slower groove so that I stood a fighting chance to get it together. it took me a week or two to really get comfortable with the first measure but after that the each measure took less and less time to get together. I also spent some time with the midi files in Garage Band which really helped me because I could loop just one measure at a time. He then had me go to Rhythms Volume Two and play measure 116 on page 16 and use a Db and a G note on the G and B strings and play along with the track. (Yeah, I know this reads like a lot of hooey if you haven’t got the books, but I want to really describe the process, cause it works.) This rhythm is very close to what the guitarist plays. That got me pretty excited because not only was I playing sixteenths but I could see it written on the page so it all started to click for me. I’m still a ways off from just reading down a whole etude with a James Brown track but I’m getting there and the important thing is I know I’m going to do it eventually. If you want to get “that thang” try this series. It did wonders for me. D. Washington
OK Garth Brooks is my hero. I’m a country fan in the true sense of the word. 3/4 time signature is so much a part of so many great country tunes. “A New Way to Fly” by Garth Brooks is a tune I wanted to do in my country band but my timing was completely off. I worked through Rhythm Primer and Rhythms Volume Two We are performing “A New Way to Fly” next week. Yep 3/4 and 6/8 aren’t any harder that 4/4 once you have worked with them for awhile. Learning how these time signature were written really helped me too because I’m a budding song writer. Maybe some day Garth will sing one of my tunes. These are some good books. A. Rogers.