Guitar Eighth Notes, Sixteenth Notes & Rests

Going Beyond Basic Note Values

You already know quarter notes (1 beat), half notes (2 beats), and whole notes (4 beats). These cover simple rhythms but not the more complex patterns found in most popular music. To describe and play these accurately, you need eighth notes and sixteenth notes.

Rests

A rest is a period of silence. Rests have the same durations as notes:

• Whole rest - 4 beats of silence
• Half rest - 2 beats of silence
• Quarter rest - 1 beat of silence
• Eighth rest - half a beat of silence

During a rest, count normally but do not play. If open strings are ringing from the previous note, you may need to lightly touch the strings with your right hand to damp them - this is called a rest stroke damping. Always count through rests - they are part of the rhythm, not an opportunity to pause.

Dotted Notes Revisited

You learned dotted half notes in Lesson 15. The dot principle applies to all note values:

Applying This to Strumming

Now that you understand eighth notes and the & count, the strumming patterns from earlier lessons make complete sense:

• A down-up strum pattern of 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & is eight eighth notes per bar
• A pattern like 1 2 & 3 4 & mixes quarter notes and eighth notes
• When you see a rest, damp the strings and count silently through it

This notation system precisely describes every strumming and fingerpicking rhythm ever written. Once it is familiar, you can accurately read and replicate any guitar pattern from sheet music or books.

The Note Value Hierarchy

In music, notes have different lengths. A whole note lasts four beats. A half note lasts two beats. A quarter note lasts one beat. An eighth note lasts half a beat. A sixteenth note lasts a quarter of a beat. Each step down divides the duration in half. This hierarchy is how rhythm is built up from simple elements into complex, interesting patterns.

For guitarists, understanding these values tells you how fast to move your strumming arm. Quarter notes mean one strum per beat. Eighth notes mean two strums per beat (one down, one up). Sixteenth notes mean four strums per beat. When a song feels fast or frantic, it is often because the rhythmic content is packed with sixteenth notes. When it feels slow and spacious, it is likely using mostly quarter or half notes.

Eighth Notes on Guitar

Eighth notes are the building blocks of most strumming patterns. In 4/4 time, you can fit eight eighth notes into each bar. These are counted "1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and," with each number and each "and" representing one eighth note. The downstroke (D) falls on the numbers; the upstroke (U) falls on the "ands."

A pattern using all eighth notes in 4/4 would be: D-U-D-U-D-U-D-U. Most popular strumming patterns skip some of these strokes to create rhythmic variety. For example, the common "D-DU-UDU" pattern skips certain eighth-note positions to create a more syncopated, interesting feel while still fitting naturally within the eighth-note grid.

Sixteenth Notes: Adding Complexity

Sixteenth notes divide each beat into four equal parts instead of two. In 4/4 time, a full bar of sixteenth notes contains sixteen notes, counted "1 e and a, 2 e and a, 3 e and a, 4 e and a." The "1," "e," "and," and "a" each represent one sixteenth note. Strumming sixteenth notes on the guitar means your arm is moving in very small, fast, continuous circles.

Advanced funk and soul guitar playing makes heavy use of sixteenth-note patterns, often with strategic mutes (lightly touching the strings without pressing down) to create percussive rhythmic effects. Players like Nile Rodgers and John Frusciante are famous for their intricate sixteenth-note rhythm guitar work.

Triplets: Dividing Beats Into Three

A triplet divides a beat into three equal parts instead of the usual two or four. When you play triplets, you count "1-trip-let, 2-trip-let, 3-trip-let, 4-trip-let," with three notes fitting evenly into each beat. Triplets have a rolling, shuffle feel that is common in blues, jazz, and acoustic folk music. The famous blues shuffle groove is built on a pattern of triplets with the middle note left silent.

Swing Rhythm: Uneven Eighth Notes

In jazz and blues, eighth notes are often not played evenly. Instead, they are "swung," meaning the first eighth note in each pair is held slightly longer and the second is played slightly shorter and later. Written out, straight eighth notes look even but swung eighth notes feel like a triplet where the first note lasts two-thirds of the beat and the second lasts one-third. This swinging feel is what makes jazz and blues rhythm playing sound characteristically loose and human rather than mechanical.

The Metronome is Mandatory

When you start dividing beats into sixteenth notes (1 e & a), your brain naturally wants to rush. The only way to build a rock-solid internal clock is to practice these rhythms with a metronome. Start painfully slow—around 50 BPM. Do not increase the speed until you can comfortably play the pattern without tensing your shoulders or forearms!