One of the trickiest skills for the budding guitarist or, for that matter, anyone learning an instrument for the first time is the ability to maintain the proper rhythm.
For some, this comes naturally, but for others it's something that needs to be mastered if one is to advance as a musician.
Thankfully, in addition to quality instruction from someone who already plays guitar well, one can purchase a timer to help develop a sense of rhythm.
While just tapping your foot to the beat or playing with other musicians - guitarists in particular - are the best ways to develop your ability to keep a rhythm, a timer can help you do this while practicing by yourself.
A traditional type of timer is the mechanical metronome that ticks back and forth so that you can keep a tempo while playing.
It uses a pendulum that rocks back and forth at a consistent rhythm, forcing one to strum his or her guitar at a regular beat in order to keep up.
These are useful for the beginner, and are most appropriate for those who just need something to help them practice rhythm while playing at home at low volumes.
Electric guitarists who turn the volume up very high will not find these useful, however, because they will not be able to hear the metronome over the guitar.
Since the pendulum can be seen rocking back and forth, the metronome also provides a visual element to the keeping of rhythm, something that helps many new guitarists who are able to watch it while just playing a simple chord progression.
Electronic timers work similarly, but are usually set with a dial or with a button instead of by starting the pendulum swing by hand.
They will provide an audible tick, the volume of which can often be adjusted to one's liking, and can generate more complex beats than the mechanical metronome.
They sometimes feature a blinking light to provide a visual component to the tempo.
When in the studio, on the other hand, many guitarists use metronomes as part of software recording packages so that a tempo can be maintained throughout a single track.
This is important so that one's song is consistent in rhythm from its beginning to its end.
While beginners are less likely to come in contact with software-based timers as part of a studio experience, beginners who have access to such timers may find them useful still.
Even if one is not recording, this type of timer can still be used in one's home to practice maintaining rhythm consistently throughout a piece of music.
As one becomes more advanced, of course, the use of a timer or metronome should become less frequent, as a musical rhythm will come naturally and should be maintained by a guitarist's intuition rather than with a machine.
Even so, professional musicians find timers useful when recording or when a particular composition calls for unusual changes or variations in rhythm.