Strumming

Hi TaylorSwiftYay,

Sorry to be so late joining the conversation!

I have a whole set of tutorials on strumming. They start at the very beginning and take you through some classic strum patterns.

It sounds like you have a good head start, so I'll point you to this set:

ACOUSTIC STRUMMING 5: CLASSIC “MUST-KNOW” RHYTHMS

You can always back up in the tutorial if any of the info in here is unfamiliar to you.

Keep me posted - Lisa

Hey Taylorswiftyay-

I'm not sure how much this will help but, I actually have a hard copy of
a Bob Marley song book. It has strum patterns in the back of the book. They are numbered say 1-10. Then under each song it has a suggested strum pattern.
Though most of my song books like "greatest hits of the 70's" do not.
So, at least some have thought about your plight. And it really is helpful.
It is a shame others haven't picked up on the idea.

What I use to do was:

stop the strings from ringing with my left hand and then strum the strings with the pick in different rhythms - so you get a sort of drumming sound


It will loosen up your wrist and help you cling on to the pick

Originally Posted by: jeffsteinIt is a shame others haven't picked up on the idea.

It really is! It'd be so much easier for us if strumming patterns were as accessible and plentiful as chords and tabs!

Hey TaylorSwiftYAY,
The name leads me to believe you are trying to play her songs. I had to learn quite a few for my daughter to sing, anyway what you need to learn is boom chick strumming.

There is alot of this used in her songs, and after that learn to play single notes on the chords. It's actually a forward roll, while holding the position of the chord. Start with this and you'll be on your way to figuring out what makes up those songs.

One other thing I want to mention, you said you get chords off of other websites. I think you should be aware that most of that stuff is submitted by listeners, and singers. It is not put up bythe artist, so it's not always accurate. A singer would post it in the key they sing it in, and it may not be the key the artist plays it in.

Let us know how it goes, and have a great weekend.

Originally Posted by: sixpickerHey TaylorSwiftYAY,
The name leads me to believe you are trying to play her songs. I had to learn quite a few for my daughter to sing, anyway what you need to learn is boom chick strumming.

There is alot of this used in her songs, and after that learn to play single notes on the chords. It's actually a forward roll, while holding the position of the chord. Start with this and you'll be on your way to figuring out what makes up those songs.

One other thing I want to mention, you said you get chords off of other websites. I think you should be aware that most of that stuff is submitted by listeners, and singers. It is not put up bythe artist, so it's not always accurate. A singer would post it in the key they sing it in, and it may not be the key the artist plays it in.

Let us know how it goes, and have a great weekend.

I've been trying to learn a bunch of artists but Taylor is one of them. :) What's boom chick and what's a forward roll? Oh and I know that the stuff on Ultimate Guitar and other similar sites might not be exactly what the artist does. But a lot of the stuff sounds pretty good.

Boomchick can be found here, good tutorial but the method takes practice to get good at.

Hey everyone,
What I'm talking about is boom chick strumming, it's also known as root 5 strumming. Using the G chord you play the G note in the 3rd fret, on the 6th string, then strum the other strings. Then play the D note which is the open 4th string, and strum the other strings. Then keep repeating it, and when you feel comfortable move on to another chord.

There are many tutorials about this on the site, see what you can find on it. These are well known strumming patterns, used in several genres of music. It's the first strumming pattern I ever learned, and it will come in handy as you progress.

Since you're just now learning about boom chick strumming, we'll cover the forward roll a little later. I've been replying to this post, while winding down from last night's performance. I'll sign off now, and I hope this helps you.