#1
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Advice on figuring out strum patterns for old hymns
Hi all,
Up until the last couple of years, most of my guitar playing has consisted of playing songs for myself and my wife. Now I am involved in an annual multiweek church camping retreat that has daily worships. I am often asked to play guitar but I don’t know a lot of hymns. I know some classics like “Amazing Grace”, “Old Rugged Cross” and “Because He Lives”, but there are a lot that I don’t know. Are there any strum patterns that fit most hymns, which I can use on the fly? I know most of the chords are the same amongst songs, so if you have any tips for strum patterns I’d love to hear them. Thanks!
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Eastman: AC630 Super Jumbo (2019) Gibson: Eric Church Hummingbird Dark (2016), J-45 Standard (2013), Gibson L-00 (1930s) Guild: D-55 (1998) Martin: D-41 Reimagined (2019), 000-15SM (2018), OM-28 VTS Custom (2016), D-18 Golden Era (2014) Taylor: K24ce Builder’s Edition (2020), K14c Cedar (1999) Yamaha: CSF3M Parlor (2019) Last edited by jpricewood; 11-27-2018 at 09:46 PM. |
#2
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Amazing Grace and Old Rugged Cross are in 3/4 time and a bass-strum-strum will always work with this type of song. Because He Lives is in 4/4 so a bass-strum-bass-strum will fit perfectly in. There are plenty of variations and you can be as simple or fancy as you care to get.
these songs IMO are simple songs for the most part and the focus should be on a simple rhythm. |
#3
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Quote:
A couple suggestions…
Had an old friend who used to say "Better caught than caught…" and "Better felt than tell't…" Playing with others or hearing others play and playing along will give you the feel for it. I facilitate a group at our church called "Folks Like Us…" because we noticed a lot of folks like us (my wife and I are 70 yrs old), and there was no unique activity for them…so we started it 4 years ago. We have a monthly Thursday noon pot-luck, and sing hymns out of hymnals. It's a good thing I grew up in church singing hymns, and that I can play by ear. I let them pick-em and we sing-em. The only caveat is if they pick one I don't know they have to do a solo…(keeps the old Presbyterians in check). Hope you find the help you need… |
#4
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We play a lot of music in our church. They like the hymns and we also do a lot of old timey gospel stuff that everyone seems to enjoy. I agree that youtube is your friend. What I do is type in the name of the hymn and then add "guitar" after it, it usually brings up someone just playing solo and singing which makes it easier to get a tempo and style that might fit better on guitar.
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#5
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Thanks for all the great advice. We let the campers pick the songs which makes it difficult to prepare. It sounds like I just need to work more on my 3/4 and 4/4 strumming (I really know nothing about music. I just use tabs and figure out strum patterns by listening to the song or watching YouTube.), and learn as many songs as I can ahead of time.
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Eastman: AC630 Super Jumbo (2019) Gibson: Eric Church Hummingbird Dark (2016), J-45 Standard (2013), Gibson L-00 (1930s) Guild: D-55 (1998) Martin: D-41 Reimagined (2019), 000-15SM (2018), OM-28 VTS Custom (2016), D-18 Golden Era (2014) Taylor: K24ce Builder’s Edition (2020), K14c Cedar (1999) Yamaha: CSF3M Parlor (2019) |
#6
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Yeah, learning some more popular hymns will get a you a long way. If people suggest something it's usually something more familiar. My friend at church does a good job keeping the chord structure simple (more than I do) but when put on the spot it makes it much easier keeping to fewer chords.
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#7
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I play in church and would estimate most (55%-60%) of the songs are in 3/4. There are a lot of songs using keys of Ab, Eb, and F, in case you're going by ear and want to stay in that key, and I've also come across a few that use modes.
When I strum alone, I generally maintain a consistent pattern throughout the song which I feel gives these songs necessary flow. It turns them away from being chants and into songs. So in 3/4 it's ONE two three, ONE two three (which I usually play as ONE two and three and, ONE two and three and, or a variation of that). However, when I accompany others I unfortunately cannot do that because the people I play with speed up, slow down, and emphasize words instead of beats. They don't seem to care about rhythm. When I'm in that situation, I sit back, listen, and abide by the "less is more" philosophy, trying to tastefully harmonize their playing and singing with notes or chords. Last edited by archerscreek; 11-30-2018 at 11:48 AM. Reason: improved accuracy |
#8
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A lot of the old English hymns were arranged for four voices rather than for modern chordal accompaniment. The four voices were Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass, sometimes called SATB. These hymns may have a different chord for each beat.
In Pop songs a chord can last for a whole bar or several bars. You can, occasionally, get a chord that lasts for one beat only but it's rare. In SATB a chord that lasts for more than one beat can be as rare. The chords in SATB wont' be complex. There are only four notes and some of them can be doubled, but it is worth taking the time to work out what they should be. As to how to strum them, one strum per chord/beat may well do. |