[James1979]

I've been playing for a year now, but I'm having real problems with strumming patterns and rhythm.

I can play and sing to songs using strumming patterns made up by myself and I'm starting to get found out when trying a more difficult song.

Please if anyone has any suggestions I would really appreciate it.

This post has been edited by James1979: 01 August 2005 - 06:07 AM

[James1979]

OK, let me put it this way, as no one has replied, my strumming is crap and I need to inject a bit of life into it.

Any suggestions?

[dadfad]

If you have problems doing the same strums as say on a recording, a good tip is to just listen to the recording several times and do nothing but tap your foot. As you really get that timing structure together with your foot, try to play it yourself, using your foot as you play with the same tapped structure, slowly at first then up to speed.

You might want to experiment with different strumming styles and rhythms. Try strumming the neck in alternating bass-strings (6,5,4) then treble strings (3,2,1) rhythms, back and forth between the two sides of the neck. Or try the old "boom-chukka" rhythm... One-an-a-two-an-a-One-an-a-two-an-a... etc. Or stum chord-then-note-then-chord-then-note. There are lots of ways to approach strumming.

You can also go "all the way".... Put down that pick and start using your fingers to play! That's how the finest acoustic guitar work is done.

And welcome to GTU.

[guitarfan19]

ya i agree with dadfad. (who doesn't?) if u listen to the song you're learning the strumming pattern to then you should be able to pick up how the guitarist is strumming. take it slow and listen a few times and then once you have the pattern written down or something just practice it and get used to playing it.

[RICH.J]

Like DADFAD says, put down that pick, and start using your fingers. You can always strum with your hand when you need to.

[yyiryyib]

my thumb has a nice callus on the side cos i use it so much, lol the sounds is much more rounded when u use your fingers and thumb

[weebenjy]

I can get more steady rhythm by using my arm as well as my wrist to strum, sort of like a pendulum. Practice making your upstrokes as strong as your downstrokes. Play with only upstrokes, for example, or alternate like this - Down Down Up Up Down Down Up Up...

The pick you're using shouldn't be too rigid or floppy. Acoustic/rhythm players usually tend to the less rigid side of things from what I've seen. I hold the pick close to the tip, only letting a little protrude, so I've got enough control over the crucial contact with the strings.

Accuracy and steady rhythm is more important than speed at this stage.

[grzegorz_panek]

Listen and repeat. With a metronome, it really helps.

[James1979]

Cheers guys.

I've had a quick go, but it's not going well so far. Whats the best way to loosen up my strumming, it all seems a bit stiff. I need to try relax more I think, and slow things down.

Keep the suggestions coming, the more the merrier.

[superwinkie]

There is a beginner strum lesson in the lesson forum.

[krypton57]

To help you, there is a piece of free software called Guitar Chord Buster

http://www.guitar-club.com

which, apart from being a very useful chord dictionary, also has some good strum patterns and info., which you could learn.

[xxfurxx]

id say learn to play wonderwall by oasis itll help you a lot

[HighInfidel]

Something I share with my students, and very similar to Dadfad's advice, is to strum with your thumb while listening to songs you want to learn. This is a good way to get some practise when you can't have your guitar in hand. I drive down the road, tapping my fingers on the steering wheel, or strumming my leg with my thumb. They both go hand in hand with Dadfad's advice.

Also, set up a diagram similar to the one below, and use it to create and practise new strum patterns. You can copy and paste this into Notepad to line it up, or add new patterns.

CODE

********************************************************************
Strum Patterns

D = Down Stroke
U = Up Stroke

4    --------------------------------
-    1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
4    --------------------------------

    D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D  

    D   D U D   D U D   D U D   D U

    D   D U D U D U D   D U D U D U

    D   D U   U D U D   D U   U D U

    D  (D)  D U D U D  (D)  D U D U  

    D U D U   U D U D U D U   U D U




3    ------------------------
-    1 & 2 & 3 & 1 & 2 & 3 &
4    ------------------------

    D   D   D   D   D   D  

    D   D U D U D   D U D U

    D U D   D   D U D   D  






********************************************************************