Learn the Secret to Great Rhythm and Strum like your Favourite Player
Right, now that you’ve got some great chord knowledge, it’s time to get your right hand moving! The bulk of all the music you’ll play on the guitar will revolve around playing rhythm guitar. If you’re a great rhythm player, you’ll soon be in demand for lots of gigs and bands. The key to great rhythm playing is to be able to keep in time for the whole song, and play with feeling. You’ve got to maintain your timing, even though it’s a common trap to speed up in the easy sections, and slow down for the harder moments, you’ve got to strive for consistency.
At the early stages of strumming, it’s ok if you find it difficult to keep in time. You’ll be concentrating on getting the chord changes correct, rather than staying in time. At least I remember that’s what I was like when I first began! That’s why you’ve worked through all the simplified examples during the lessons. Always keep in mind that it’s better to get it right slowly, rather than stopping or playing the wrong notes. Once you can change chords easily, adding extra rhythm to your playing will be a breeze.
Great rhythm parts are often very simple and repetitive. You should experiment with dynamics – playing softer or louder. Vary how hard you strum the strings, it will inject some feel into your playing. It’s not always what you play, but how you play it that will help separate you from the pack.
Let’s kick off our right hand development with an all down-strokes strumming exercise. Once again I suggest practicing with a metronome, it’s the easy way to know if you’re staying in time. Take a moment to listen to my audio examples, and try to match the sound. If you can master listening and matching sounds, you’ll quickly advance into a great player.
Play with downstrokes
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To give the example a nice feel and add some dynamics, try playing the first strum of each bar slightly louder. This is known as accenting, and helps to reinforce the timing.
Remember to finish all the exercises with one strum on the first chord.
Varying the location of the up-strum to mix up the pattern
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The pattern to strum is down, down, down-up, down. Remember to use the notation symbols as your guide, and that the (v) means to strum up.
We can now expand this concept to play a new rhythm.
Try this using the down and up strokes
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The pattern to strum is down, down-up, down-up, down.
Now you’ve got the skills to change the strumming patterns to add interest to your playing. The next example is a fraction harder, as we add some variations. Take your time and make sure you’re nailing the chord changes before attempting the rhythm patterns.
Adding Variations
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The example has two different patterns.
Bars 1 and 2: down, down-up, down, down
Bars 3 and 4: down, down-up, down-up, down
Pro Guitar Tip
Try to keep your wrist loose so that the up strums sound natural and even. Rhythm playing shouldn’t be jerky, we’re after a nice smooth action.
Syncopated Rhythms
This example steps up the difficulty again, but will really expand your rhythm skills. We’re adding in some rests, and changing the length of the notes.
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Strum: Down, Up, Down, Down, Up, Down-Up – it’s a 2 bar pattern this time.
Hear how the pattern sounds more interesting and musical?
Pro Guitar Tip
The best way to start your journey to become a great rhythm player is to listen closely. Put on your favorite song, and try to isolate the rhythm guitar part. Hear how the part moves, and try to copy it yourself. I can’t express enough how beneficial it is to develop your ears through listening and analyzing music. It’s been an amazing to me in getting to where I am today musically.
Left Hand Muting
A really cool technique to make your rhythm playing sound percussive is to mute the strings with your left hand and continue playing rhythm with your right. To use this technique you do not push the strings all the way down to the fingerboard, but just cover all the strings and prevent any notes from sounding.
Funky left hand rhythm muting
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The (x) stands for mute.
Cool! Now let’s try muting in a rock idea. You’ll hear that leaving a rest at the end of each bar adds to the part and gives space to the music. To stop the last chord of each bar ringing out and filling that space, mute it with your left hand but don’t strum.
Rock on mute-ants!
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Muting is a great way to add interest to rhythm parts. Make sure you play musically, this technique is cool but use it wisely. For example, it wouldn’t really be that tasteful to be strumming hard muted rhythm patterns to a mellow song.
What’s next on your rhythm list?
Homework!
Argh!
But don’t run away just yet – because my homework assignment for you is to crank up your favorite music! More specifically, listen to the rhythm guitar part, and start to learn some songs. One of the best ways to get your rhythm tight is to play along to actual tunes. If you’re practicing, remember to count or tap your foot, and also use a metronome if you can. Experiment with different strumming ideas, and feel free to invent your own down-up patterns.
Here’s a checklist of some popular songs that contain cool rhythm parts that are well worth a listen:
Wonderwall (Oasis)
Nutshell (Alice In Chains)
Knockin’ On Heavens Door (Bob Dylan)
Redemption Song (Bob Marley)
Flake (Jack Johnson)
Elderly Woman Behind A Counter In A Small Town (Pearl Jam)
Homeward Bound (Simon and Garfunkel)
Passenger (Powderfinger)
Time Of Your Life (Green Day)
Bail Me Out (Pete Murray)
Heart Of Gold (Neil Young)
Scar (Missy Higgins)
3AM (Matchbox 20)
No Such Thing (John Mayer)
Ok, get out there and listen, learn and practice! Make it fun, and enjoy those moments when you’re playing along with a song you’ve always loved. Good luck getting that rhythm jumping!
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