Wagon Wheel Strum Pattern?
 

I realize this is a simple song and several patterns sound fine, but I'm trying to play exactlly the pattern on the album.

The pattern I've seen suggested most is:

DDU UDU

But when I listen to the album, on the first part (guitar only), I hear a pause after the second downstrum rather than that immediate upstrum. Am I crazy?

I also later hear a pattern that sounds more like bass note, downstrum, bass note downstrum (no upstrums), but not worried about that for now.

Thoughts?

Wagon Wheel Strum Pattern?
 

Hey there. Just sharing a video I made about one of my favorite strum patterns.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hw69CcE7PU

Pasted from another thread

Nice, as noted, it definitely works...

I think with WW the 2nd downstrum is emphasized and played on the "&"

So maybe it's


d D u u d u

Anyone worked this out before or have a better ear than me

The accents are more important than any particular pattern.

Try hitting all downstrokes with accents on beats 2 and 4 at first (beats 1 and 3 should be bass notes but you can add that later). The upstrokes are just filler. Once you've nailed the song with solid downstrokes, your upstrokes will fall into place. Just keep listening to the song.

My advice is : don't get hung up on patterns.:)

This.

Eg, if we're talking about Wagon Wheel, which version? There are lots. Do they all have the same strum pattern? If not, which one is "correct"? Does it matter?

Essentially in ALL strum patterns (in 4/4) the hand moves DUDUDUDU (D on the beats, U between, otherwise how do you get to your next D? ;)). Which strokes hit the strings (and how hard)? That's kind of up to you.

As stated, I'm talking about the album version (ocms) and as I've also stated, several patterns obviously work. While several patterns work, it's a good exercise to first be able to mimic the original and improvise from there, rather than just playing it a little off and pretending I meant to change it up.

I disagree with your second paragraph. Tons of patterns have down strums on the '&'. I'm not sure if that's going on in WW, but its in tons of easy songs (e.g., Wild Thing). And how hard to hit the strings on a given beat is everything in playing a song correctly.

The basic pattern in the first couple of bars

1 (&) 2 (&) (3) & 4 &

From there it's basically

1 (&) 2 (&) 3 (&) 4 (&)

I don't hear any downstrokes played on upbeats...

You're quite right, I should have mentioned that, but I was trying to focus on a basic principle.
Down strums on the "&" occur when the tempo is slow enough to allow downstrums on every 8th; it keeps the rhythm solid and steady. IOW, upstrokes then occur on the 16ths in between. (Of course not every stroke is a "hit".) There are a lot of rock songs (including many beginner ones) where this is the case.
Again I agree, but that can be discovered easily by listening. And the basic rule is as Michael Myers said: accents on 2 and 4. The vast majority of rock songs adhere to that.

The basic "DUDUDUDU - stress on 2 and 4" principle is important to get familiar with first, because it's then a lot easier to hear (and to play) variations, eg when upstrokes are stressed or downstrokes missed. The problem my students have is always establishing the regular stroke pattern (down on the beat) first. Without that, every strum pattern is a struggle, rather than a natural adaptation.

As for the OCMS version of the tune
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gX1EP6mG-E
I hear the two opening bars (guitar only) as this:
As in walter's (2nd) pattern, after that I hear no upstrokes at all. (They may well be there but are obscured by the other instruments.)
IOW, I regard this is an insignificant strum pattern, that the band probably never planned or thought about, and might play differently every time. (IOW, it's one of the most common standard patterns, usable for many songs.)

What's more important is (a) the swing feel (delayed upstrokes), and (b) the chord marked *. This is the sound of open strings being strummed as he changes to the next chord, and tells us (having determined the notes) that he is playing with capo on fret 2, using G and C shapes (for these two chords); and also being quite lazy about his chord changing - letting his fingers off the strings on beat 4 rather than "4-and". (On beat 4 of the first bar he cuts the chord short - no upstroke after it - to begin moving his fingers to the "C" shape.)

These things - especially the crucial swing feel - are more particular to the song than the strum pattern.

I understand what you're saying about wanting to get things right before playing your own version (if you want) - I agree as a principle. But I think the strum pattern is maybe the most trivial thing to focus on getting "right"; it would make zero difference to the song to play it a little differently (no one would notice or care).

Here's how I play it (In shuffle rythm)

1----2---- 3----4----1----2----3-----4
d*---D--------u-D-u-d*---D-------u-D-u

(d*= I try to hit only the lower strings, the base note of the chord)


I agree with the above, the key to good strumming is that your hand should move continuously, the only thing that changes is when and how hard you hit the strings.

Thanks for the input

I love this song on several different levels... just a great song. Lot's of suggestions already, but there is a different take: With any song, make it your own.

If you haven't see Matt Anderson play Wagon Wheel, do yourself a favor and see how far you can go with even a simple song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0dKtiWTKaA