Well, we've learned some chords, and we've learned how to use the whole note, half note, quarter note and eighth note as tools to learn rhythm. Well yeah, but...
What I really showed you were just exercises that helped you do a couple of things:
1. Change chords faster and cleaner
2. Show you that playing rhythm involves playing "in time" (like 4 beats to a measure for example).
You also learned that there are a lot of different ways (strumming styles) that can be used in any one measure of any song.
But we ain't really playing rhythm guitar jusssssst yet.
There are a lot more different types of notes, and there's more than just four-four (4/4) time.
Relax. We will cover some of this stuff later, but there's no need to go through every single bit of it.
Quite a bit (not all) of the basic rhythm stuff has already been showed you. Now I'm gonna show you how to put some pizazz into it and turn it into real rhythm.
Let's look at the exercise picture. Actually, let's look at only the second measure - the one that has all eighth notes in it.
Now here's what I want you to do... Play that measure over and over using whatever chord you want to. Those are eighth notes, so use down-up strumming. Play evenly, and start slowly.
Next start increasing your speed until you are playing fairly quickly -- but NOT TOO QUICKLY just yet -- just make sure that your down and up strums are as even as you can make them.
What you are playing is one of the most basic rhythm patterns known by all guitar players.
Now we're gonna mess with it -- and we're gonna do that by putting in what are called "accents" (Ack-cents) in our strumming.
To accent a strum, all ya gotta do is to strum just a little bit harder at a point of your choice. The measure in the exercise has eight eighth notes in it. This allows for many many ways to play this measure using accents.
I will show ya a few to start. If we use down-up strumming for that measure we have:
D U D U D U D U (D = down strum, and U = up strum).
Let's accent the very first down strum (accents in bold)
D U D U D U D U
Try this over and over. Once you get used to it, try accenting that first down strum just a teensy bit harder.
Listen to what you are playing. Do you see how that changes the style?
Now keep playing that measure while accenting that one strum more and more until it gets to the point where it would sound stupid to do more accenting.
Work on this pattern and get used to it to the point where you can play it in your sleep.
Now let's change the accent spots. Try these next. Remember, the bold is what gets accented. Start with just a slight accent and work your way up to a hard accent. Get used to each one before going on to the next one.
D U D U D U D U
D U D U D U D U
D U D U D U D U
D U D U D U D U
D U D U D U D U
D U D U D U D U
D U D U D U D U
As you get used to each style, play faster and faster until you are playing it as fast as you can.
Accenting in these different spots and changing how hard the accent is gives you lots of different styles just for this one pattern.
There's more. Much more. But foist things foist.
Remember, practice, practice, practice.
Professor Bruno Noteworthy
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Contributor's Note
Professor Bruno Noteworthy is a toon music professor who loves teaching the guitar to kids.
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