It’s really important to have great time and feel on guitar. But most guitarists have to work at it. Some guitarists tend to drag and some tend to rush. In all my years performing and teaching, I see more who rush.
The most common reason is excitement. As we get excited, we tend to get ahead of the beat. That takes our rhythm guitar parts out of the pocket and feel kind of jagged. And if we rush when playing lines, the notes all crowd together and sound frantic.
Sometimes we’re nervous about playing a really difficult part and a little panic comes over us. We hurry up a little to make sure we get in all the notes.
The best remedy, obviously, is to try and relax and hold back. But I’ve always taught an approach for making a time correction that doesn’t sound so sudden and obvious, and it borrows from some driving tips you get if you live in a snowy and icy part of the world. And that is to NOT overcorrect if your car starts to slide. In other words, react quickly but make your adjustment to getting “back in the pocket” more gradual.
So take a little bit of time to ease back into the groove.
