Tomo Fujita Guitar Wisdom

Dear all,

I was always confused about the meaning of behind the beat.

If my reference is the flow of the sound then playing behind the beat should mean playing after the beat was played. Then again, if my reference is the music staff, behind the beat would be before the beat was played. And vice-versa for ahead of the beat/in front of the beat.

I think I know the answer but I feel the need to have it be confirmed by an individual with a musical power greater than mine. I did google it and all the answers were ambiguous.

Thank you in advance for your replies.

All my best to you all,

Jerome

Here is Tomo's comment:

"Thank you so much for subscribing to my Guitar Wisdom. First, everyone needs to be able to play in time with a metronome, in many different tempos and with a few different feels (straight feel, swing feel, etc.).

"Basically, you can play 3 ways: (1) on the beat, (2) behind the beat, and (3) ahead of the beat. I will think about creating a lesson on this topic."