Notation for Sittin on the Dock of the Bay


anthm
Registered User
Joined: 05/17/20
Posts: 66
anthm
Registered User
Joined: 05/17/20
Posts: 66
07/18/2020 5:53 am

Hi ,

I have been doing some work on music theory and in particular Notaion for guitar, I was looking at Sittin on the Dock of the Bay Song Lesson here at Guitar tricks, in Particular the chorus.

I see that Beat 1 is a 1/4 Note (down strum ony) then Beats 3 and 4 are 1/8th Notes representing (down up strums), But beat 2 is divided into 3 parts. From what I ha

ve learnt so far I am not sure how this is possible?

Could somone please explain.

Kind Regards and Thank you in advance.

Attached is a screen shot of the Chorus

Anthony


# 1
Herman10
Registered User
Joined: 12/04/19
Posts: 318
Herman10
Registered User
Joined: 12/04/19
Posts: 318
07/18/2020 7:39 am

time signature is 4/4 so you need 4 quarter notes per mesure

beat 1 is the first quarter note

Beat 2 is an eight note and 2 sixteenth notes, 2 sixteenth notes counted together are the same as 1 eight note so the total in beat 2 is also a quarter note

beats 3 and 4 are every time 2 eight notes which equals a quarter note to so there you go ; 4 quarter notes in one mesure

whole note=2 half notes= 4 quarter notes= 8 eight notes= 16 sixteenth notes

eight note= 2 sixteenth notes

hope this helps Herman


# 2
anthm
Registered User
Joined: 05/17/20
Posts: 66
anthm
Registered User
Joined: 05/17/20
Posts: 66
07/18/2020 9:56 am
Originally Posted by: hsnoeckx

time signature is 4/4 so you need 4 quarter notes per mesure

beat 1 is the first quarter note

Beat 2 is an eight note and 2 sixteenth notes, 2 sixteenth notes counted together are the same as 1 eight note so the total in beat 2 is also a quarter note

beats 3 and 4 are every time 2 eight notes which equals a quarter note to so there you go ; 4 quarter notes in one mesure

whole note=2 half notes= 4 quarter notes= 8 eight notes= 16 sixteenth notes

eight note= 2 sixteenth notes

hope this helps Herman

Thank you that makes sense, But how can one do a 1/16 the note strum pattern on beat 2? so yes the 1/8 can be a down strum but how do you strum 2 x 16ths???


# 3
ChristopherSchlegel
Guitar Tricks Instructor
Joined: 08/09/05
Posts: 8,328
ChristopherSchlegel
Guitar Tricks Instructor
Joined: 08/09/05
Posts: 8,328
07/18/2020 2:15 pm
Originally Posted by: anthm

I see that Beat 1 is a 1/4 Note (down strum ony) then Beats 3 and 4 are 1/8th Notes representing (down up strums)[/quote]

First, the rhythmic subdivisions do not indicate direction of strums. They can make certain strumming patterns necessary. For example, you'll have to strum those quick 1/16th notes in an alternating pattern (down-up-down or up-down-up) in order to get them to happen. Because there's no way to strum those all in one direction effectively in the amount of time required (up-up-up or down-down-down).

Originally Posted by: anthmBut beat 2 is divided into 3 parts. From what I ha

ve learnt so far I am not sure how this is possible?

[p]Herman already explained the rhythmic subdivisions. Thanks, Herman! For more on that topic study this lesson on rhythmic subdivision.

https://www.guitartricks.com/lesson.php?input=10274&s_id=271

[quote=anthm]But how can one do a 1/16 the note strum pattern on beat 2? so yes the 1/8 can be a down strum but how do you strum 2 x 16ths???

But doing alternate strumming on the 16th note patterns: a quick down-up-down. If you slow the video down at the beginning performance example section you will notice 2 things.

1. Down-up-down pattern on the 1/16th notes. I've drawn arrows on the notation here.

2. Switching to minimal motion on those strums. I've drawn a box around the strums during which Lee keeps his strumming motion very minimal to make sure he can get all those strums in on time. Minimizing motion to achieve economy of motion is an important skill to learn. Keep in mind that the 1/8th note after the 1/16th notes has to factor into that pattern because the second 1/16th note is so short.

Once he gets that alternate pattern in motion he keeps it for the rest of the measure on the 1/8th notes. You can do that to the beginning of the measure too if you want!

Hope this helps!


Christopher Schlegel
Guitar Tricks Instructor

Christopher Schlegel Lesson Directory
# 4
anthm
Registered User
Joined: 05/17/20
Posts: 66
anthm
Registered User
Joined: 05/17/20
Posts: 66
09/16/2020 9:57 am
Originally Posted by: ChristopherSchlegel

1. Down-up-down pattern on the 1/16th notes. I've drawn arrows on the notation here.

2. Switching to minimal motion on those strums. I've drawn a box around the strums during which Lee keeps his strumming motion very minimal to make sure he can get all those strums in on time. Minimizing motion to achieve economy of motion is an important skill to learn. Keep in mind that the 1/8th note after the 1/16th notes has to factor into that pattern because the second 1/16th note is so short.

Once he gets that alternate pattern in motion he keeps it for the rest of the measure on the 1/8th notes. You can do that to the beginning of the measure too if you want!

Hope this helps!

Sorry Chris, I have been educating myself more and more on Rythm notations and therefore have taken my time to reply. Even I am a beginner, I don't buy any of that. So no it doesn't help.

Strums stuffed into 16th notes, I don't get it.

I suspect maybe a time signature change for that particular bar may be more appropriate. But as I say I am a beginner and here to learn from experts.

Cheers

Anyways.


# 5
ChristopherSchlegel
Guitar Tricks Instructor
Joined: 08/09/05
Posts: 8,328
ChristopherSchlegel
Guitar Tricks Instructor
Joined: 08/09/05
Posts: 8,328
09/16/2020 11:52 am
Originally Posted by: anthmEven I am a beginner, I don't buy any of that. So no it doesn't help. Strums stuffed into 16th notes, I don't get it.[/quote]

Maybe slow the video down so you can see that's literally what the instructor is doing?

https://www.guitartricks.com/lesson.php?input=19770&s_id=1543

You can see the instructor tightens his strumming pattern considerably on those 1/16th notes. On most beats he is strumming more from the elbow, but he switches to strumming from the wrist for that beat.

I suppose you could just avoid doing the all those 1/16th notes & play a simpler pattern of 1/8th notes. After all, those 1/16th notes only happen on the 2nd beat. So you could just play a strumming rhythm like the intro video.

https://www.guitartricks.com/lesson.php?input=19768&s_id=1543

[quote=anthm]I suspect maybe a time signature change for that particular bar may be more appropriate. But as I say I am a beginner and here to learn from experts.

Changing the time signature isn't going to change what he plays.

It's 1/16th notes at 103BPM. You could draw it as 1/8th notes at 206BPM. I guess that might help see it better on paper. But that doesn't match the groove of the song. And it would still just be notating the same musical event.

Maybe this tutorial by Anders on strumming 1/16th patterns might be helpful in learning how to do it.

https://www.guitartricks.com/lesson.php?input=29257&s_id=2486

Hope that helps!


Christopher Schlegel
Guitar Tricks Instructor

Christopher Schlegel Lesson Directory
# 6
bouncee
Registered User
Joined: 01/18/20
Posts: 26
bouncee
Registered User
Joined: 01/18/20
Posts: 26
09/28/2020 5:37 pm

Remember when I was thought this song, and I was shown the verse walk down fra C to A I think it was, I felt like pro as soon as I mastered then timing of it, and it was so much more fun to play. Sure the walk could be done on sevral other places in the song but that was how I learned it and I never looked into other options. It just made me feel so great when I nailed the walk down in time. And I actually felt I was playing real music for the very first time, something more then just the very basic strumming.

So just play the strumming like explained and play the notes C - B and A (open A string) in time with the backing track. You might feel like a rockstar too ;)


# 7

Please register with a free account to post on the forum.