Subject: Strumming Success Leaves Clues
You are getting this e-mail because you subscribed to it on www.learn-to-play-rock-guitar.com. If you don't want to receive these e-mails any longer, go to the bottom of this message and click on "unsubscribe." Hey there Friend, Have you ever heard the saying "success leaves clues?" In the process of learning guitar you're eventually going to want to try and play songs by your favorite artists. Part of that is matching (duplicating) the chords that are played - but it's more than that. You'll most likely want to match the strum pattern as well. I think this is a good way to expand your technique, and I encourage you to give it a try.However, it can take a little while to get your ears tuned to hearing the strums. There's usually a lot going on in a song - many times there are multiple guitars playing, so it can really take some focused listening to differentiate between guitar parts, not to mention the competing vocals, keyboards and percussion. Depending on how the song was mixed, the guitars might not be the main instrument, making it more difficult to tell what's happening with them. As a side note, it's a good idea to have a decent set of headphones you can use to listen to a song you are trying to analyze. It may be easier for your ears to isolate the different guitar parts as you listen for the tell-tale signs of an up or down strum. Slow Down and Really Listen What I find is that if I can give my undivided attention to a song, within a few seconds I can begin to isolate individual instruments in my ears. I decide what I'm listening for and then focus my hearing on the timbre (the unique sound) of that instrument. You should be able to accomplish this fairly quickly as well - every instrument has a unique timbre, and if you know how it is supposed to sound, your ears will be able to identify and isolate the instrument. Once you have focused in on a strumming guitar, the next step is to begin hearing the attack on the strings. No, I'm not suggesting that the strings are being assaulted - attack is how hard or soft the strings are touched to produce the sound. Strumming will sound different based on how the strings are strummed (lightly or aggressively) and how contact is made (with a pick or with fingers or nails). Fingers and very thin picks will produce a softer touch to the strings, while thicker picks will have less give in them against the strings and make a coarser, plucky sound as they catch and release the strings. Once your ears begin picking up on the individual strums, start listening to the tone of the chords being played. Do you hear more treble than bass in the chord. This could indicate that there was an up-strum and you're hearing the higher pitched strings (strings one through three) first versus the lower pitched strings. The thinner strings will also sound thinner and less powerful than the thick strings, so listen for those differences as well. Working on your aural skills is a worthwhile pursuit and should be part of your daily practice, but there are some more practical ways to help figure out strum patterns. I mentioned earlier "success leaves clues," and here's what I mean. The clues to how a song's strum pattern works are there for you to pick up - you just need to develop your ability to hear what's going on and then simply figure out how to apply it. Last week I gave some practical instruction on basic strumming, and hopefully that took a little bit of the mystery out of doing it. It's one thing to play any old strum pattern along with a song, but completely another to analyze the song and duplicate the pattern strum for strum. Strumming Practice Will Help But because you have taken the time to work on good, basic strumming technique (you have, right?), you are going to have a better understanding of how to apply what you hear. As you have worked on the simple down/up strum pattern to eighth notes, you haven't just been syncing your strumming hand to a beat. You've also been training your ears to hear the difference between a down strum and an up strum. While working on different strum patterns, your ears haven't just been sitting there decorating your head. They've been picking up on when a down strum is held for a quarter note duration or if there was a rest incorporated into the measure. Your ears have been connecting the dots between your strumming hand making contact with the strings and the sound that results from that contact. Yup, they've been picking up what you're laying down (sorry, I couldn't resist)! True, it may not feel like that's the case when you're first starting, but like anything guitar related, time and practice will prove it out to you. The more you do it, the easier it will be and the better your ears will hear what's going on. Over the next week try to spend some time simply listening to music. I don't mean as background noise - I mean really focus your attention on picking apart the songs. Isolate the cymbals - listen only for those. Then focus on just the bass drum. Now divert your attention to just the bass guitar. Allow yourself to follow the bass line throughout the song. Try to hum it while the song plays. Then pick out the guitars. See if you can identify how many there are on the track. If you take the opportunity to do this once or twice a day, you might find you really enjoy looking for the nuggets in a song. It's amazing that for as long as I've been listening to music this way, I can still find little things I've missed in songs that I've been listening to (and playing) for years. Kinda like finding the prize in a box of Cracker Jacks! Our ears are as important to guitar study as the instrument itself. There's a lot of noise in the world, and it takes some effort to give your ears an environment that allows them to train. However, if you take the time to work at aural training, it will translate to your guitar playing and general musicianship, and you'll end up being a better musician. Go listen to some music! Peace~ Dave Dave "Eddie" Vance is a rock guitar enthusiast and gear nut. He has been playing guitar for over 30 years and enjoys tormenting the neighbors every chance he gets. When he's not slaving for the man, you can find him rocking out with his B.C. Rich Bich guitar, a cold beer and some sweet tunes. He also runs Learn-To-Play-Rock-Guitar.com, but you knew that already! Follow Learn To Play Rock Guitar:I welcome your feedback! Did you like today's message? What other topics would you like to see covered in my e-mails? Please let me know at: dave@learn-to-play-rock-guitar.com As always, please feel free to forward this email to a friend! I review products before recommending them. If you buy a product based on my recommendation, I will receive a commission. However, my emails also contain links that don’t require any investment on your part and are jam-packed with "juicy, guitar learnin' tastiness". We don't rent or share your name with anybody. Feel free to forward this issue to any friends you think would enjoy its contents. They will thank you. So will I.
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