The Acoustic Guitar Forum

Go Back   The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > PLAY and Write

Reply
 
Thread Tools
  #1  
Old 02-04-2017, 04:19 AM
campy campy is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 36
Default Help with strum pattern

Struggling beginner, but I keep trying and hope someday it all clicks. I have been learning Rod Stewart's Mandolin Wind because it's simple and I like the song, but I can't seem to find the strum pattern online so I am improvising as I go along. Any help would be appreciated.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 02-04-2017, 06:12 AM
fazool's Avatar
fazool fazool is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Buffalo, NY
Posts: 16,513
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by campy View Post
...Any help would be appreciated.
Best advice I ever got was from one of my guitar mentors when I asked a similar question. I was frustrated with his answer and didn't understand it but slowly tried to do what he told me which was:

"you guys need to stop trying to figure out the strum pattern and just *FEEL* the music"

This made all the difference.
__________________
Fazool "The wand chooses the wizard, Mr. Potter"

000-15 / GC7 / GA3-12 / SB2-C / SB2-Cp / AVC-11MHx / AC-240
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 02-04-2017, 08:58 AM
campy campy is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 36
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by fazool View Post
Best advice I ever got was from one of my guitar mentors when I asked a similar question. I was frustrated with his answer and didn't understand it but slowly tried to do what he told me which was:

"you guys need to stop trying to figure out the strum pattern and just *FEEL* the music"

This made all the difference.
I have been able to do that on some 2 or 3 easy chord songs. I'm a 66 year old beginner trying to cram 40-50 years of learning into 10, but I realize that's not possible.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 02-04-2017, 12:42 PM
JonPR JonPR is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 6,446
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by campy View Post
I have been able to do that on some 2 or 3 easy chord songs. I'm a 66 year old beginner trying to cram 40-50 years of learning into 10, but I realize that's not possible.
This should be a good guide:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xlo1NvEdAw
Watch Rod's right hand - not Ron's because he's picking the chords. You'll see the mandolin player is (mostly) strumming the same way.
It's just about keeping the beat with downstrokes (1-2-3-4), keeping that hand moving. The upstrokes come with occasional hits on the strings as the hand moves back up. And you can accent different strokes to convey rhythm. Eg, in this tune (as in most rock music), the 2nd and 4th downstrokes are more accented than 1st and 3rd.

It's a real mistake to get too bound up with strumming patterns, and try to emulate some prescribed pattern you've seen spelled out somewhere. That's really not how it works. Players don't plan strum patterns, and they certainly don't write them. They just keep the beat, at whatever speed is comfortable, and suits the song - with that regular down-up swing of the forearm from the elbow (or the hand from the wrist at faster tempos). Strum patterns emerge as they accent (or miss) particular passes of the strings - and normally that varies throughout the song.

Some songs do have distinctive strum patterns, but Mandolin Wind (great song!) is not one of those. (It does have a picking pattern, on the guitar intro at least, but that's a different matter. It still fits within the beat, of course, but the picking hand may have to move in a less regular way.)
__________________
"There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." - Leonard Cohen.
Reply With Quote
Reply

  The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > PLAY and Write

Thread Tools





All times are GMT -6. The time now is 10:57 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright ©2000 - 2022, The Acoustic Guitar Forum
vB Ad Management by =RedTyger=