GUITARHUBFind your level

Tone · Advanced · 5 min

Dynamics Without Rushing

Alternate soft and loud bars while the timing stays exactly the same.

How to play it
  1. Play one bar of quarter notes very softly, then one bar hard, and repeat.
  2. Change only how deep the pick goes into the string. Keep the motion the same size.
  3. Listen back to check the soft bars are truly soft. The coach checks the timing.

What the coach checks: Timing of each attack. It cannot measure how loud each note is.

Goal100 BPM · 80% accuracy
Your bestNo result yet
Rating–

Rhythm player

Hear the rhythm

1234

Tap any hit to hear it. Four clicks count you in.

100% is the goal tempo, 100 BPM. The speed presets climb from Learn to Goal about 10% at a time, and the practice slider below uses the same scale. Build a full ladder to your goal

Your practice room

Keep a steady pulse

Audio-attack timing feedback. This check does not identify chords or distinguish every background sound from a strum. Use a quiet room and visual beats.

This checkpoint needs 100 BPM or faster and the required accuracy. Slower Play attempts still produce practice scores.

Exercise map · 16 targets
  1. 1. SoftBar 1 · beat 1
  2. 2. SoftBar 1 · beat 2
  3. 3. SoftBar 1 · beat 3
  4. 4. SoftBar 1 · beat 4
  5. 5. LoudBar 2 · beat 1
  6. 6. LoudBar 2 · beat 2
  7. 7. LoudBar 2 · beat 3
  8. 8. LoudBar 2 · beat 4
  9. 9. SoftBar 3 · beat 1
  10. 10. SoftBar 3 · beat 2
  11. 11. SoftBar 3 · beat 3
  12. 12. SoftBar 3 · beat 4
  13. 13. LoudBar 4 · beat 1
  14. 14. LoudBar 4 · beat 2
  15. 15. LoudBar 4 · beat 3
  16. 16. LoudBar 4 · beat 4

Chord names and stroke directions are visual guidance. Rhythm scoring measures attack timing.

SoftTarget 1 of 16 · attack when the cue lights up

Keep counting through the spaces. Chord names and stroke directions are visual guides; only attack timing is measured.

Bar 1 of 4 · beat 1 of 4

1234

Tune first. Audio stays on this device.

Why this drill

Playing loud tends to pull the tempo forward and playing soft tends to drag it. Dynamics are a tone control you already own, as long as they do not move the time.

Common mistakes

  1. The loud bars rush

    Fix: Keep the pick motion the same size and change only how deep the pick goes into the string. Count the loud bars out loud. Rushing tends to start on the first loud note, so give that downbeat its full time.

  2. Soft notes too quiet to register

    Fix: Soft still has to speak. If the coach misses soft attacks, move the phone or computer closer to the guitar rather than playing louder.

  3. Tensing the arm for volume

    Fix: Volume comes from pick depth and follow-through, not a tight arm. Shake out the hand between passes. A relaxed arm also keeps the loud bars from going thin and harsh.

Tempo plan

100% is the goal tempo, 100 BPM. Each rung sits about 10% above the one before it, so every step up is one you can hold. The speed presets in the player above use the same rungs.

  1. Learn 75 BPM · 75%Exaggerate the contrast: as soft as still sounds clear, then as loud as still sounds clean.
  2. Build 83 BPM · 83%Hold the contrast and let the timing grid catch any drift at the bar lines.
  3. Push 91 BPM · 91%Switch to Play · full check here. Two clean passes in a row earn the next rung.
  4. Goal 100 BPM · 100%Sixteen quarter notes across four bars, soft and loud, every one on the beat. A pass at 80% accuracy or better clears the drill.
  5. Stretch 110 BPM · 110%Run a few passes here, then return to the goal. Time above the goal makes the goal feel settled.

Build a full ladder to your goal with holds and back-off sessions, starting from the tempo you can play today.

Make it music

Dynamics are how a strummed part builds from verse to chorus. Play a verse soft and a chorus loud on the same chords without the tempo moving, and the song gains shape without a single new note. Picking position adds a second control: near the neck sounds warm, near the bridge sounds bright and cutting.

Variation

Play a crescendo: start the bar soft and get louder on each quarter note, then come back down in the next bar. Or accent only beats 2 and 4. Then add a third level, soft, medium and loud, one bar each, with the timing still locked.

Drills

Guides