Stop 5 of 6
First strums with a metronome
Down-strums in 4/4, counting out loud and playing in time.
Loading…
Stop 5 of 6
Down-strums in 4/4, counting out loud and playing in time.
Your fingers can already form six chords. Now it's the other hand's turn, the one that turns those shapes into music: your strumming hand. In this stop you learn to strum down in time, counting out loud with the metronome as your partner, and you play your first strumming pattern. It's the foundation for all the rhythm on the journey.
A good isn't a hit, it's a sweep. The pick crosses the strings almost at once, from lowest to highest, with a motion that comes mostly from the forearm and wrist, not the shoulder.
Listen to the difference between a stiff strum and a relaxed one. The second sounds rounder because the strings ring in a very fast cascade rather than all at once:
Three keys for the strumming hand:
The music you hear every day has a regular heartbeat, the . In most popular songs beats are grouped in fours: each group is a , and the figure 4/4 (the "four-four" ) says exactly that: four beats per bar.
Listen and count out loud with the audio. The "1" of each bar is slightly stronger:
Now the same thing, with an E strum on every beat. Each symbol is a : it lasts exactly one beat.
Before playing, musicians give a : "one, two, three, four" at the song's tempo. That way the first strum lands exactly where it should. Do it too, every time.
The is a musical clock that gives a steady click. Its speed is measured in (beats per minute): at 60 BPM there's one click per second; at 120, two per second. Try it:
How to practise with it:
Here's the secret of good rhythm guitarists: the strumming hand never stops. It goes down on every beat and, between beats, comes back up without touching the strings. It's a pendulum: down, up, down, up, always at the same pace.
In the strumming grid, the ↓ arrow is a down-strum and the dot · is the hand passing without playing. Listen and watch how the dots mark the "&" between beats:
Why bother moving the hand if it doesn't play? Because then the hand keeps time for you: if every downward move matches a beat, every upward move matches the "&", and the rhythm holds itself together. In the next stage, The River of Rhythm, you'll start playing on those upward moves too, with the . Train the pendulum now and that step will feel natural.
Splitting each beat into two equal halves gives you eighth notes. Musicians count the first half with the beat number and the second with "and" (written "&"): "1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &". In this stage you only play on the numbers, but your hand already moves on both halves. Quietly counting the "&"s helps keep the pendulum even.
A very common mistake is strumming too hard. The result is a harsh sound, strings slapping against the frets, flying picks and a tired forearm within five minutes. Use this loop to experiment with intensity:
Play along at three levels: very soft (almost a whisper), medium and loud. You'll notice the medium level sounds fuller than the loud one, and that soft forces you to be more precise. Practise mostly soft and medium.
A is a rhythmic formula repeated bar after bar. Here are three, from easiest to hardest. The hand is a pendulum in all of them: only which downward moves you play changes.
Pattern 1: four quarter notes. One strum on every beat. You've got this one.
Pattern 2: "long, short, short". Strum on 1, let the hand pass without playing on 2 (the chord keeps ringing) and strum again on 3 and 4. The first strum lasts two beats: a half note.
Pattern 3 (optional, a sneak peek): with an up-strum at the end. Same as pattern 1, but on the "&" of 4 the hand, already on its way up, brushes the high strings. That up-strum carries you with momentum into the next bar.
Goal: Strum E major in quarter notes, counting out loud for a full minute at 70 BPM, without rushing or dragging behind the click.
First play the pattern without backing, with the metronome. Then start the backing and play over it. Remember: on beat 2 your hand keeps moving, even though it doesn't play.
When it works, swap the progression for Am – Dm – E – Am.
Goal: Play A – D – E – A with pattern 2 (long, short, short) 4 times in a row at 65 BPM over the backing, always changing on 1.
Practice blocks ticked: 0 · Self-assessments taken: 0