wat i mean is that do u hav to strictly follow da strumming pattern of a song?...or is it ok 2 do it ur own way as long as it sounds right n da beats r rite?...jst dat sum of dese patterns really interrupt the natural up-down motion of ur hand..help plssss????
Are you asking about electric or acoustic? It would be helpful if you can name the song. For example, the verse rhythm section of Metallica's 'Master of Puppets' is supposed to be played with all down strokes. It is a lot easier to play it by alternating up and down strokes but doing so takes off a bit of the aggressive tone of the palm muted down strokes. Another example is the guitarist of the band The Offspring. That dude pretty much strums with down strokes only. For full chord strumming, try to keep the whole motion smooth and rhythmic, letting your hand swing through moderately loose. Here the difference is a little more subtle between up and down strokes. Still for me, upstrokes tend to be more treble heavy and down strokes tend to be more bass heavy due to my tendency to pull my hand away from the strings as I complete the stroke. Ultimately, the key is to choose a motion that is repeatable and smooth so as to keep the rhythm.
hey thanks guys..im tokin about acoustic guitars...ill try out a few songs n get bak.. p.s.@wylder hmmm u hav an ibanez??..hwz dat goin for u??..
hey wylder he is a beginner...so dont make things complicated for him ya...he wont get sweep pickin,economic picking,harmonics and stuff like that...if you dont understand then the easiest way is to lower down the tempo of the song you want to play and just try to imitate the way of strumming
@Sumanovo razor: actly wat wylder said makes perfect sense..but wats sweet pickin anyway??..im a self taught guitarist so really dnt kno da terms..da method u mentioned does work if ur jst tryin to get da basic strumming rite..quite useful..its jst dat i play in one way and on the internet its anodr way so i was jst wonderin..
ya even i agree that what wylder said is correct...that is one of the styles of kirk...went to see metallica's live performance in bangalore...it was super ausumn...well i will suggest you to start with alternate picking...that is one up and one down...sorry m not into tabs so cannot explain you with tabs...well there are some beat names...but then only a few samba,basanova,waltz...etc...but ultimately you gotta find your own ways to get the rhythm...which i guess most guitarist do...well sweep picking is a picking technique mostly used with distorted tone where you move your pick in one direction across multiple strings but still they dont sound as a chord...mostly you play the chordtones ...like a.c.e for a minor...its not necessary to play the default rhythm pattern...you may make your own patterns also..provided they sound good and technically okay
in the initial stage you will find up and down motion a bit difficult but later when you will actually master the technique you will realise that its the easiest way to get started with...with up and down strokes your playing speed will also get enhanced.btw do you know how to start a new thread...i did one few days back but now dont remember it exactly
Dude, I was talking about strumming and not picking. The two are pretty different. Picking is for individual strings and a strum is for multiple strings so that they ring together. And whats the deal with making his question your personal blog? @Strings dnt lie: Nice to know that you understood what I was talking about. These concepts fairly basic for all genres and styles. Don't worry about your picking technique yet if you are building up your rhythm guitar skills. Picking is used for playing lead/solo lines.
I think this is good advice. To add to what has been said, playing an acoustic by yourself is different from playing guitar with a band. In a band, a guitar has drums/bass/other instruments with it to complete the sound. When you are on your own, you tend to have to do everything yourself. A smooth, repeatable motion, as wylder put it, helps you set a beat. Sometimes, you accentuate the bass notes to simulate the bass and sometimes you accentuate the higher ones to put in what would normally be a synth or a guitar.
Its all about feel at the end....Its not about how well u imitate the pattern but mostly about how well u play any damn pattern that suits the songs rhythm and feel...definitely keeping in mind many aspects..such as tone. High lows in ur strumming.. But if u r a beginner then you wudnt have so much strumming pattern library build for urself...better explore with different strumming patterns first...Play the songs the way they are played in the originals. U can improvise later on once u get good hold on the song and different strumming patterns. I have seen many bands playing covers using different strumming patterns..What you play.. play it right...and for gods sake make it sound good....
I guess it's not important to strictly follow the strumming pattern. But trying to play accurately as the record is a good thing. Not many can pull it that way. After that you can always improvise you know
I second however i think you should stick to the strumming pattern not doing so would wreck the song but then again thats my view if you want to change the pattern then change between verse and chorus or verse and bridge but i would stick to the same strumming pattern throughout one part of the song in fact i would make sure that verse 1 and verse 2 have the same pattern be it covers or song writing one very very important point is fluidity of your hand dont strum with your elbow strum with your wrist wrist shouldnt be rigid also if the original strum pattern is screwing up your beats then dont do it cause even if you are playing and singing at a gathering of friends (or any audience of musical laymans) they wont care if you use another pattern but they'll spot a beat miss however some songs like aicha are completely based on original strum pattern
