Rythm and Chords

[Bubba3141]

Hi all,

I am a new member and new to guitar playing. I bought a guitar 3 weeks ago, along with the Hal Leonard Complete guitar method, as it received high ratings on Amazon by around 150 people. I get how to play the notes while reading the music, but there are also chords above the staff where the single notes are listed. My question is, when playing the chords for these songs, how do I know how to strum? Should I just strum to the melody, i.e. once every quarter note, etc...?

Thanks!

[Minotaur]

The Question of the Ages. If you know the song, listen closely for the pattern and duplicate it as closely as you can. Even then you may not get it exactly right. And you probably shouldn't try to exactly duplicate the original recording. Make what you're playing "your own".

Melody is not necessarily a good indicator of strumming pattern, since there could be a steady strumming rhythm going on with just a few melody notes. If what you can make out from listening to the song sounds good to you and sounds right, it probably is. Lots of songs have lots of ways of strumming.

[foxden]

I have used that book as well. In the beginning, they are trying to teach you notes on the strings so you can learn to read music. If you played the melody with the notes the chords listed would be an accompniment.

Another great beginners book is Acoustic Guitar Basics, by Keith Wyatt. In it he teaches strumming patterns for various common chords.

Good luck, so very much to learn and never master.

[Bubba3141]

Once I learn to read music better, will the sheet music have how to strum on it, or not? The sheet music that I've seen I have not been able to fully understand yet.

Thanks

[Guyute]

To be perfectly honest, you'd do better to learn to read tabulature than to read sheet music.

[Jhengsman]

Normally you will not see a strum pattern. It has been the choice of the artist and the composer/arranger usually does not assign a strum to pop music.

A lot of "easy" books with lead sheets often give examples of different strum and finger picking patterns which they recommend.

It is the same with basslines. Unless it is distinctive say like with Queen's Another One Bites the Dust the musician just gets the chords and lead line and creates his bassline.

[Dark Eyed Junko]

Originally Posted by Guyute

To be perfectly honest, you'd do better to learn to read tabulature than to read sheet music.

I respectfully disagree.
To the OP, you'll find out soon enough that there is an eternal debate regarding the usefulness of learning tab. I vote against it.

[Minotaur]

Originally Posted by Bubba3141

will the sheet music have how to strum on it, or not? The sheet music that I've seen I have not been able to fully understand yet.

Thanks

Yes and no. It won't be there plain to see. Once you learn to read standard music notation you can pretty much determine the pattern. Most published sheet music doesn't have strumming patterns. They will have chord names and usually the diagrams. If the sheet has three staves: top: melody; middle: rhythm; bottom: bass, the notes on the rhythm staff will give you the number of beats per measure (1/2, 1/4, 1/8 note). That's what you'd follow for your strumming/rhythm pattern. If they are all 1/8 notes you'd count 1+2+3+4+ and maybe DUDUDUDU or DDDUUDUD. If they are 1/4 notes you could do DUDU or DDUD. But whether they are upstrokes or downstrokes depends on the song.

[Minotaur]

Originally Posted by Guyute

To be perfectly honest, you'd do better to learn to read tabulature than to read sheet music.

Originally Posted by Dark Eyed Junko

I respectfully disagree.
To the OP, you'll find out soon enough that there is an eternal debate regarding the usefulness of learning tab. I vote against it.

I agree with disagreeing.

Tab is good and all for getting the voicings, but it's useless for timing unless you know the song. Admittedly tab is easy for a guitarist or bassist to use and write because you just plug the fret numbers on the strings. I wish I had spent more time learning standard notation; I can read it but I'm pretty slow at it. And if a chord gets much past a triad or 7th... oy vey! I'm there all day

[Turtle]

Originally Posted by Minotaur

Tab is good and all for getting the voicings, but it's useless for timing unless you know the song. Admittedly tab is easy for a guitarist or bassist to use and write because you just plug the fret numbers on the strings. I wish I had spent more time learning standard notation; I can read it but I'm pretty slow at it. And if a chord gets much past a triad or 7th... oy vey! I'm there all day

I disagree with this!

Most tabs - well most good ones anyway - are accompanied by standard notation. The tab tells you where to fret and which strings to play, and you can figure out the rhythm from the standard notation. Some tabs also have dots underneath, on the downbeat. It's all very systematic ... once you get used to interpreting them I think they are pretty useful.

[Minotaur]

That's not the tab most people think of. What they think of is the tab you find on the internet, which is usually worse than awful, incomplete and downright wrong. Even musicnotes.com and sheetmusicdirect.com sell some tab that have no standard notation or indication of timing. I've seen the tab you are talking about, and that is not what most people find when they do a UG or Google search for "Stairway to Heaven tab".

[Turtle]

Originally Posted by Minotaur

That's not the tab most people think of. What they think of is the tab you find on the internet, which is usually worse than awful, incomplete and downright wrong. Even musicnotes.com and sheetmusicdirect.com sell some tab that have no standard notation or indication of timing. I've seen the tab you are talking about, and that is not what most people find when they do a UG or Google search for "Stairway to Heaven tab".

That I totally agree with. There is so much garbage floating around on the net.

[shawlie]

Originally Posted by Bubba3141

Hi all,

I am a new member and new to guitar playing. I bought a guitar 3 weeks ago, along with the Hal Leonard Complete guitar method, as it received high ratings on Amazon by around 150 people. I get how to play the notes while reading the music, but there are also chords above the staff where the single notes are listed. My question is, when playing the chords for these songs, how do I know how to strum? Should I just strum to the melody, i.e. once every quarter note, etc...?

Thanks!

I've had that course from the library a long time ago, not sure what is exactly in it anymore.

Starting with quarter notes is a fine enough way to start learning, though, I think. Once you get the feel of that solid rhythm, you'll start doing more syncopated (and up and down) types of strumming on your own. Takes a little time, and everyone has their own sense and feel. But I think learning how to keep time like you suggest is a perfectly fine way to approach things in the begining. Have fun with it.

[Guyute]

I agree that a lot of the tab floating out there on the interwebs is garbage, but there is a lot of good stuff, too. In the long run, learning the voicings is a big help and if you have to listen to the song to get the rhythm, you're only training your ear to hear things better.

JMHO, of course. Most standard notation isn't as relevant to guitar as good tab is. If you're playing piano, I'd definitely go with standard notation. For guitar, good tab will get you a lot closer to the original and will teach you more chord voicings in the long run than standard notation.