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strumming patterns and sheet music help please.


markaf19

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Posted

Ok i think i'm a little in the dark when it comes to figuring out strumming patterns using sheet music. Is there another way to figure them out besides just by ear when your using sheet music. I always thought that on 1/8 notes you strummed up on the and part For example one down strum and up strum. Can anyone help me figure this whole deal out. any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

mark

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if you have a good technique, you will know how to pick without even thinking (just keep in mind that sometimes it's irrevevant which way you pick, as there's like 2 ways to pick which you'll find that have the same difficulty level)

if not, just stop for a moment, and see the sequence of notes you're going to play (which fret, which string) and then do it slowly using different picking/struming. as soon as you find the easiest one you can speed it up

 

but no, there's no way to read it on the sheet music, at least I never saw a sheet with that info

not in the tabs either, unless of course the tab specifies which direction you should pick, which is only common on practice exercises, not in real music tabs

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if you have a good technique, you will know how to pick without even thinking

 

 

Couldn't have said it better myself.

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Posted

 

Ok i think i'm a little in the dark when it comes to figuring out strumming patterns using sheet music. Is there another way to figure them out besides just by ear when your using sheet music. I always thought that on 1/8 notes you strummed up on the and part For example one down strum and up strum. Can anyone help me figure this whole deal out. any help would be greatly appreciated.


mark

 

 

Most music reading methods I've seen suggest always starting the beat with a down stroke... so 1/8 notes in 4/4 time:

 

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

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

 

i.e. upstroke on the off-beats.

 

I think the idea is it can help simplify things whilst trying to keep time, but I just alt pick and don't think about it.

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Strumming is rhythm, rhythm is feel.

 

You'll find that many people use their own feel to play rhythm. What's taught in a book may not always jive with YOUR rhythm. Sure, practice the rudimentary structures that are taught in books and that people are explaining here...but ONLY use them as a vehicle to find what's right for you...

 

rhythm is a very dangerous thing when you don't experiment with it. Without experimentation you may never find what feel right to you...your own rhythm. Rhythm is what make some of the greatest song the great songs they are...and that comes from the person...not a book or a structure.

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learning drum rhythms and drumming notation can help you figure that stuff out.

 

 

In the first band I was in I followed the drummer on rhythm almost always. it was funny 'cus I ended up rewriting the songs in the process, but hey, it sounded good!

 

Start slow with rhythm, do easy songs, eventually it'll come to you. Also, try some reggae if you are having big problems, that will force you to do something a little different...

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In the first band I was in I followed the drummer on rhythm almost always. it was funny 'cus I ended up rewriting the songs in the process, but hey, it sounded good!


Start slow with rhythm, do easy songs, eventually it'll come to you. Also, try some reggae if you are having big problems, that will force you to do something a little different...

 

 

That's exactly what I'm talking about. Especially when writing songs. I think just about every tune/rhythm I've written on guitar ended up being completely different once I had the drums and bass laid down.

 

When playing JUST guitar you tend to "fill-in" for the other rhythmic instruments with muted strums, having a bass note in even chords, "simulating" the whole rhythm section. Once you have those other pieces behind you, if you play it the same way you end up "blurring" the rhythm and in many cases stifling the rhythmic pulses. So, YOU start to rewrite your rhythm, just like hshaitan said, and THEN you have YOUR true rhythm of the song...and there isn't ANY BOOK or RUDIMENT that is going to show you that. YOU need to find it yourself, in the music.

 

So, definitely learn stuff out of a book, it's a great "right direction" resource for you...but...it's only the beginning of greater things to come. So, start looking for those greater things now by experimenting...now!

 

Also, captain averages mention of a drum book is great for understanding rhythm placements and durations. Also seeing and reading rhythms will only help as a musician.

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