Virtual Star Guitar Lesson 11
In the last lesson we learned a new notes, the quarter note, and we learned to play the G chord using this new note type. In this lesson we are going to continue studying chords and the use of stumming patterns.
Do you have any idea what I am talking about when I say strumming pattern? In most songs, the guitar does not just randomly play chords. There is usually a pattern of whole note, half note, quarter note, etc, that the guitar player plays over and over throughout the entire song. Let’s see an example.
Take a look at this tab snippet.
We start out with two half notes using downstrokes followed by four quarter notes using alternate picking (downstroke/upstroke). Here is what it sounds like.
Audio Example C11_1:
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This is what I am referring to as a strumming pattern. There are many different ones, not just half note, half note, quarter, quarter, quarter, quarter. So, what do we do with this? We are going to use it when playing a song. Let’s try an example. Here are four measures of this strumming pattern using a G chord.
(Click to enlarge)
Give it a try along with me.
Audio Example C11_2:
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Now try it by yourself. Don’t forget the alternate upstroke/downstroke picking for the quarter notes. This will be critical when we speed the beat up.
Audio Example C11_3:
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Ok. That is sounding pretty good. Let’s add in the C chord. Take a look at this tab.
(Click to enlarge)
This is very similar to the last example. We are going to play the G chord for four measures, then we are going to play the C chord for four measures, then we are going to play the G chord for four more measures. The entire time we are going to play our half note, half note, quarter, quarter, quarter, quarter strumming pattern. Give it a try along with me.
Audio Example C11_4:
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Ok. Are you ready to try it by yourself?
Audio Example C11_5:
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Are you getting the hang of it? Let’s try one more example including the D chord. We will play four measures of the G chord, then four measures of the D chord, then four measures of the C chord, and then finally four measure of the G chord. The entire time we be playing our half note, half note, quarter, quarter, quarter, quarter strumming pattern. Here is the tablature.
(Click to enlarge)
Are you ready to give it a try along with me? Here we go.
Audio Example C11_6:
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Alright. I think you are ready to try it by yourself.
Audio Example C11_7:
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That is it for this lesson. You should practice these strumming examples over and over. You may still be having a problem when switching between chords. That is ok. Don’t give up if you can’t switch in time. Just change to the other chord as quickly as you can and then continue with the rest of the measure. If you miss a note or two while changing chords that is ok. I promise that you will be able to change chords more quickly the more and more you practice.
Continue on to Lesson 12…
View the Virtual Star Guitar lesson index…
Do you have any questions or comments on this lesson? If so send me an email and I will respond shortly. rbrewer@myguitaruniversity.com