Strumming Patterns
 

Newbie question. I am looking for a strumming pattern for the Allison Krausse versions of Down by the River to Pray. I found chords but no strumming pattern.
Any ideas?

It seems strumming patterns are generally hard to find and I'm so new I can't always figure it out. Besides YouTube, is there a good way to figure it out?

Thanks

When trying to determine a strumming pattern for a song where there is no obvious strumming pattern, I will experiment with different strum patterns and see what sounds right. When I think I have something that sounds good, I will play along with a recorded version of the song to see if it really fits.

Hmm, I'm terribly familiar with the song, but I did a quick youtube search and every version of her's that i found was accapella unfortunately. If you have a guitar version and wanna post the link I (or someone better than me haha) could take a look. Its a very vocally driven song it seems though so I would consider something minimalist so as not to compete with that, personally. Perhaps a flatpicking or fingerpicking pattern.

Oh yeah, the other thing is if you check Youtube for lessons (although I doubt there is one for this song unfortunately, but hey I might be wrong) or check Songsterr which has tabs and chords that have a rhythm included format where you can actually listen to each part as it is tabbed on the site.

Maybe this cover will help?

https://youtu.be/XqRs7i53_os

The best advice I ever got, when starting out was from an exasperated guitar mentor who told me

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


Of course, I found that hard to comprehend but I embraced it and it has made all the difference.

Don't worry about the strumming pattern. Just FEEL the music. The strumming pattern is the result of playing as you feel.

If you feel it, the strumming pattern happens.


By using a strumming pattern, you are trying to force the feeling. It's the tail waggin' the dog

Too Much
 

One of the issues I see with a lot (not every) player is too much strumming.

Hitting the strings on every down and up stroke can be distracting and take away from the vocals.

Another is letting the chord ring until the next chord. Sometimes treating a four beat strum like a eighth note then a eighth rest rather than 4 quarter notes can be more effective.

Sometimes no chord for 3/4 of a measure can accent the vocal and keep the listener engaged rather than getting lost in too many strums.

Training the strumming hand is often overlooked.

That version in "Brother Where Art Thou" is rather loose and free. As it starts, it's just a single strum on the "one" of each measure. As the song progresses, it doesn't get too much more complicated. It's the vocal that carries that song. I agree, it's almost something you have to "feel" more than "think".

This may help with that part of your query -

https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title...-music/2967496

Thanks all for the assistance. Feeling the song at the moment is something I'm going to have to work on, being fairly new. However with some of the simpler songs I've been playing I do change the pattern a little bit for whatever feels right. (Not that this may feel right to anyone within earshot).

Strumming Patterns
 

A320drvr - I’m curious if your forum name means you are an Airbus 320 pilot.....

I share your frustrations with strum patterns and the difficulty learning or figuring them out. Though I am getting better I also struggle with them. I feel they are the most overlooked element of learning guitar for beginners and the most challenging.

It is hit or miss - Ultimate Guitar is my primary site for tabs - some have strum patterns, many don’t. The tabs are crowd sourced so often they have inaccuracies and you have to modify them by listening to the song and adjusting. If a song I am trying to learn does not have a strum pattern, and I can’t find a You Tube lesson, I’ll search for the artist playing the song or a cover and try to decipher a useable pattern.

If that does not work I wing it but it will take me time to settle in a pattern.

Keep at it and good day.