Originally Posted by: stevelankford313

Any suggestions as to what i would need to train my rhythym and lead skill. I do not own a metronome.[/quote][p]GT has an online metronome.

https://www.guitartricks.com/toolbox.php

And there are many other free ones on the web.

http://a.bestmetronome.com/

But it sounds like what you really want is a backing track & a way to multitrack record, when you say this.

[quote=stevelankford313]

There a So i'm wondering if i need an effects pedal with built in options, or separate components. Drum and or bass layers would be nice but at this point i feel like it would be helpful to just hear and play over my own rhythym. I really have no idea what i need to do this, I'm technologically challenged you might say. Thanks! for any Help!

If you have an Apple product you can get GarageBand.

https://www.apple.com/mac/garageband/

If you own a Windows based computer or tablet you can get Audacity.

http://www.audacityteam.org/

Those Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) programs will allow you to record audio on your computer. Install one of those programs, then download freely available backing tracks. We have many here at GT. I have this series of 12 bar blues in all keys.

https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1108

Each lesson has an mp3 audio file with bass & drums you can download. There are many others on the internet you can download & use. Import that audio backing track file into your DAW & record your own rhythm & lead playing along with them!

There are lots of other options for doing this. Those are just the 2 DAWs I hear that students are using to accomplish this task. I personally use SONAR for recording audio. And there are lots of YouTube vids that teach & show you how to set up those programs & use them.

It's a lot of stuff for anyone. Even if you aren't technologically challenged. :) But it's well worth the effort of climbing the learning curve to get one of those programs installed, because once you do, you'll have access to virtually unlimited amounts of backing tracks & it's a great way to measure your learning & playing progress. Also it's very satifying to hear your own recordings.

I saw in another thread you mentioned a looper. That can be a fine solution as well. But those require a certain skill set & you can usually only record one rhythm part or track, loop it & them play over it. If you work with a DAW you have access to many tracks, you can change keys, you can edit & manipulate the audio.

With all that in mind, it's a good idea to assess what your needs are compared to your goals. At this stage you might simply need to play along with those blues backing tracks in my tutorial until you're confident you will benefit from a DAW set up.

Another valuable & simple option is to just play along with existing backing tracks on the web. For example, sometimes I just want to click a button & play guitar! Not worry about recording or editing. So, I might just go to a GT backing track & play along! Or I might go to YouTube & find a jazz standard backing track to play along with for practice.

And don't forget that there's the option of finding a guitar playing friend to trade licks with. :) If you can find a like minded friend in your situation (maybe at a local music store?) you can play blues songs taking turns playing rhythm & lead with & for each other.

Hope that helps! Have fun with whatever option works best for you!