You are not logged in. Please login or register.
Guitar chord forum - chordie → Acoustic → How do I know when to strum??
Okay so this is probably the silliest question ever BUT on the songs here with the chords above the words... How many times am I supposed to strum each chord? I was just doing each chord one strum lol. It doesnt sound much like a song like that...
Okay so this is probably the silliest question ever BUT on the songs here with the chords above the words... How many times am I supposed to strum each chord? I was just doing each chord one strum lol. It doesnt sound much like a song like that...
There are no silly questions
I usually look them up on YouTube to see the strumming pattern
I'm sure some a lot more expert than I will be along with another tip to help ya out.
Don
The best way is to do what Don said. Go to that song on YouTube and watch and listen. It takes awhile to get patterns down, but if you listen to the song, it can help. Listen for the bass sounds and try to strum with that. At first it really doesn't matter whether you strum one strum or just back and forth, up, down, up, down. As time goes by and with lots of practice, you will be able to tell how to strum. This doesn't help you much, I know, but just listen to the beat and try to copy that with strums.
Starrlee, as typed above you gotta hear the song first. Have you every listened to a song and found yourself tapping your toe to the beat of the song? Strumming is about timing, getting a feel for the beats of a song. Listening to the bass notes or drums will help you get a feel for this. Songs ar written in various thming formets - 3/4 (waltz timing) and 4/4 timing being the most common. As an example in 3/4 timing you have 3 beats per bar and it is counted 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3. In 4/4 timing you will have 4 beats per bar and it is counted 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4. These would be 1 strum per number. So you gotta learn to count the beats in a bar. Eighth nots, sixteenth notes will change everything but someone else will need to explain that.
Pick a song - hopefully a good ole country song - thats good and slow to begin with and that most folks will likely know and I will try to help you figure it out. Gimme an idea of a song that you like.
Next time you catch yourself tapping your foot to a song just put a pick between your toes and you be strummin'.
Nela
All posts above nailed it. If you love a song - maybe obsess over the song for a while, you need to do some research. You need three things:
1. Lyrics
2. Chords jotted in red pen over the syllable of the lyric where you strum along
3. Access to your favorite video arrangement of that song so you can play along and see how it's done.
If you can do a good job on a tune you really like, it's gotta be fun. 
Once you get the strumming patterns down-and it will come- you can add your own little things to the song. Perhaps a bass beat to certain notes or such.
Additionally: You don't have to strum exactly like the song. You can change the pattern a bit to fit how you feel the song can be played.
Agree that Youtube is the best source. If its a popular song, try searching with song title, guira lesson
e.g. "fire and rain guitar lesson" and you may well find that someone has a lesson which allows you to see the pattern broken down. Some lessons are better than others though!
Good luck
I struggle with the urge to strum EXACTLY as the rythm of lyrics goes badly. I means, sometimes it works (ok, worked for an amazing drinking song, but, hmm, I doubt if it is possible to strum anything more complex when you are intoxicated enough to decide to play that one) but other times it does not at all. And if I get off that urge, it usually turns into down, pause, down, up. Any suggestions?
Ok... maybe I am too much punkrock here... make the song your own... screw what the artist did with it... it's yours now. There is no right or wrong, there is just you and your guitar... (which may on occasion weep gently...).
What I mean to say: let your hand do the work, try and try until you reach someting good, which will in turn evolve into something brilliant...
And THEN try to play country roads in less than one minute with all the chords...
thistles,
I like your approach but when I try this all songs sound exactly like CCR's "Bad Moon Risin'" which is the only song I can actually half-way play:)
dj
Hehe...
Weeeeeeeell, it could be a worse song, couldn't it? Imagine everything sounding like "I've been looking for Freedom"...
*g*
I had the same problem and sometimes still have it... I mentioned in another tread songs with "signature strumms" like "First we take Manhattan", "Viva la Vida" or "51st State of America". Figuring these out helped me quite a bit as well as trying to ust just downstrokes for a while and such...
Happy hunting for the "Right Stuff" ( tm)
Cheers,
Tom
Guitar chord forum - chordie → Acoustic → How do I know when to strum??
