Would appreciate someone to share....

Hi, my name is Lori and I am new here as well as new to playing "rythem" guitar. I have been playing classical for some time but have recently been trying to play rythem for a band. I must admit that even with my classical knowledge I am at a loss for how to proceed in this new style. I can't seem to figure out different ways to strum other than a few basic 4/4 patterns. I've looked online and through this site for some more advanced strumming patterns and can only find the basic ones I already know. ie; down up down up down, down up down up up down as well as the skip the 3rd beat one... with the ones I know I can keep the beat but certianly not very interestingly and everything sounds the same. So, if anyone out there can give a challenged stummer a hand and share a few patterns with me I would really appreciate it. Thanks a bunch, Lori

You're going about it too stiffly. Don't think in patterns, just play what sounds good to you. Or, if you're doing covers, just play it how it sounds. Relax that wrist, mechanical sterility isn't desirable.

Try using just the up stroke for a ska feel.

Also don't hit all the strings at once.

Try picking a note (or two like a power chord) and then strumming the rest of the chord.

Try picking rather than strumming and mixing picking with strumming

and also don't for get to add a little variety by adding some palm muting

[font=trebuchet ms]Welcome to the GT Forum!

At the risk of stating the obvious, the first thing you need to do is develop your sense of rythym. Mute the strings with your fretting hand, and let your strumming hand experiment freely with different patterns. Think in terms of providing a percussion accompaniement for the melody. Throw in some variations instead of just grinding away at one 'chuffa-chuffa-chuffa-chuffa' sequence. Above all, have fun with it! :D

After you have some skill in accenting the beats, you can try shifting the emphasis across different strings to alter the voicing of the chord you're playing. More fun.

This a chance to set the rules instead of reproducing or interpreting someone else's work. Enjoy![/font]

I want to thank those of you who have responded and welcomed me so far... After reading what Hammurabi wrote I would have to admit that he is right and that is why I am stuck in such a rut. And I hope I am not going to offend anyone by saying this but I was trained very traditionally... ie; hold your guitar at a proper position, proper fingering, heavy metronomes and heavy therory. With this style of training I learned to play "skilled" guitar but totally lost the feel of the music if that makes sense. I can't color outside the lines now and for me think that my training in a lot of ways did me a disservice. I now require everything in black n white... I think that is why I am "stiffly" playing and looking for someone to spell out a pattern for me. The other people in the band have absolutely NO training and couldn't even tell you what key they are playing in but all have a much better sound than I. It is my hope that one day I can bring together my classical with other types of styles and get my feel back. I absolutely adore freestyle guitar and if any of you are interested, take a listen to my at the moment guitar hero who plays this style... his name is Randy "Steele" Travis and you can find him at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/nevels

I started out in music with saxophone and learned about time signatures with that. So I can relate to what your saying.

Heres my suggestion. Forget what you know about time signatures first of all.
It still applies, but you have to think about it differently when playing rhythm guitar. Time signatures are a logical anaylsis of time, but with rhythm guitar the beats are based more so off of how the music feels. Once you understand this you will know what I mean when I say that you will mostly be playing along with the drummer. Forget the strumming patterns that you all ready know. The drummer will establish your strumming pattern for most songs.

Three situations can occur in the rhythm section of the band in regard to the bass player. The bass player can be playing exactly what the drums are playing, he can fill in some beats that the drums are not playing, and the drummer could fill in some beats that hes not playing. Sometimes you can play exactly what the bass player plays or what the drummer is playing. Sometimes its cool to play the notes or beats that they're not playing. Sometimes its cool for them to play the notes or beats that your not playing.

The best way to understand rhythm guitar is to understand the drums, and the bass guitar. I learn by doing things myself. Whenever the band has some free time It would probabily be a good idea to pick up the bass guitar and jam with the drummer, and also to sit down at the drum set and jam with the bass player.

Although you may not like these styles of music you would benefit from listening to some heavy metal music. They usually have the most complex strumming patterns that I have ever heard. Rap, and funk music usually have cooler beats on the other hand, but not as interesting. The music in Africa played only on drums has some really cool rhythms at times (my apologies that I don't know the name of this style of music.) Lest we not forget about blues rhythms.

But in all honesty, if you know how to play classical guitar, shouldn't you be the lead guitar player?

Originally Posted by: Lori_B... With this style of training I learned to play "skilled" guitar but totally lost the feel of the music if that makes sense. I can't color outside the lines now and for me think that my training in a lot of ways did me a disservice. I now require everything in black n white...

[font=trebuchet ms]Exactly! You now confront the differences between a violinist and a fiddle-player. Breathe in the freedom. Like I said - Have fun with it.[/font] :D

Ahhhh haaaa, I've got it!!!!

I just wanted to let you guys know that I went to practice w/the band on Saturday and totally quit trying to count out the beats... I just played whatever I felt and it sounded really good. I even got some "wows". I think I have finally crossed over from the land of "1, e, and, ah's" to freedom....

You don't know how totally weird it's been for me to go from having an elaborate piece of sheet music sitting in front of me to just be given chords. I had never even played with anyone eles other than a wrote out duet with another guitar. I am beginning to wonder if I ever truely played before now. I still have a long way to go but who knows, maybe I'll jump off that Amp yet ;)

Oh, and in reference to why I am not playing the lead with knowing classical.... I don't necessarily play "lead riffs" but I have been throwing some of my pickin in some intros, endings and such.

Thanx Guys!

Originally Posted by: Dr_simonTry using just the up stroke for a ska feel.

Also don't hit all the strings at once.

Try picking a note (or two like a power chord) and then strumming the rest of the chord.

Try picking rather than strumming and mixing picking with strumming

and also don't for get to add a little variety by adding some palm muting

i agree. ska chords have a great sound and work great as a rythem guitar.

Originally Posted by: Lori_BAhhhh haaaa, I've got it!!!!

I just wanted to let you guys know that I went to practice w/the band on Saturday and totally quit trying to count out the beats... I just played whatever I felt and it sounded really good. I even got some "wows". I think I have finally crossed over from the land of "1, e, and, ah's" to freedom....

You don't know how totally weird it's been for me to go from having an elaborate piece of sheet music sitting in front of me to just be given chords. I had never even played with anyone eles other than a wrote out duet with another guitar. I am beginning to wonder if I ever truely played before now. I still have a long way to go but who knows, maybe I'll jump off that Amp yet ;)

Oh, and in reference to why I am not playing the lead with knowing classical.... I don't necessarily play "lead riffs" but I have been throwing some of my pickin in some intros, endings and such.

Thanx Guys!

Don't be discouraged about lead, a lot of lead players have classical influences. Yngwie Malmsteen and Randy Rhoads for example.

something nobody has mentioned -- interesting sounds happen when different kinds of guitars play together, like electric+acoustic, electric solidbody+electric hollowbody, acoustic 6string+acoustic 12string, steel strings+nylon strings, etc.
What kind of guitar do you play, Lori, and what's your lead guitarist's axe?

I think your right about the different types of sounds you can get from having different types of guitars play together. It just adds another demension to the sound (other than just playing other chord voicings) We try not to go all electric because we play more mellow sounding stuff but always have either all accoustic or electric and accoustic... I even tried my nylon stringed classical with an electric, that was kinda neat but I don't play that one too often because it's too hard to amplify it right and it gets kinda lost with the electric playing... Mostly we do this; I play an old Yamaha FG-140 sometimes ran through an effects box and the lead plays a semi-hollow body electric... I'd like to play more electric but I just haven't found the right guitar. I personally (perhaps from playing classical for so long) have a thing for the deep tones/sounds from old well played guitars.

Originally Posted by: Lori_B... I'd like to play more electric but I just haven't found the right guitar. I personally (perhaps from playing classical for so long) have a thing for the deep tones/sounds from old well played guitars.

[font=trebuchet ms]I'm tempted to suggest trying an old jazz box, but that really doesn't 'break out' of where you've been quite enough. I think you'll find that a good solid-body axe with fairly heavy strings (.011" or .012" high E), will render those tones quite well. And there are some models with nice, wide necks that someone with your classical training could do some serious shredding on. The key is to find a guitar that sounds good [u]unplugged[/u]. A good amp helps a lot, but it can only make a crappy guitar sound louder. A well-built solid-body does have good intrinsic acoustic properties. Dig through the archives with the advanced search function. We've burned up a lot of server space on this topic.[/font]

I personally have always liked the rhythm guitar kinda "ringing" (acoustic with 80-20 strings) so that it doesn't get into the bass/drums territory. But the way you explain your style, I suggest that you try to "interact" with your lead guitar by adding a lick or two here and there. And if you want to sound "mellow", probably "less is more" -- I wouldn't be strumming, but rather finger-picking. Classical background will sure help with that. Have fun!

Lori,
You already have a good understanding of the instrament, and as in your clasical playing it is all in how you feel the song . You transmit that to your hand as you play.. I'm an old goat and hard to teach new tricks but when I do want to improve or learn a new style or pattern I always turn to the cd and tuner . Make sure your guitar is tuned to electronic pitch then pop in the cd or mp3 of songs or styles your trying to play . Then play along with your favorite group and do what they're doing. Also like someone else to your response said, " have fun with it ".
Later Ed

I'm glad your band rehearsal went well.Often,if you approach the guitar informerly and play around,you'll come across 'hidden' stuff that would not have come out otherwise.This is what it is to jam :)

yeah - gotta say, glad things went well for you. At the risk of sounding redundant and possibly giving you some bad advice, I'd just play it as you feel it out, That's how I do it but I will tell you that because of that, my timing is not the greatest. if I really get into a jam, i'll take off and have the rest of them trying to keep up!