Oddly Even
A clever way to add some rhythmic variety to your playing is to phrase notes in groups of odds and evens.
Even the simplest melodic idea can become an ear-twister with some odd rhythmic voodoo thrown into it.
The example below shows a basic E major pentatonic scale, played in groups of 4 then 5 notes, descending.
Think 1234 12345 1234 12345, etc… which causes the lines to break out of the predictable pattern and float over the barline. Players like Eric Johnson do this a lot.
The most important thing to do at first is to play as evenly as possible, and make the notes sound like they are all one line, not broken groups of 4 and 5. Accents can come later.
Once you start feeling comfortable with the pentatonic shape, you can apply the same idea to any scale or arpeggio sequence.
It’s also a good idea to play along with a metronome, drum machine, cuckoo clock or whatever keeps good time.
Slow:
Med:
Fast: