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Most music moves in groups of 4. That means counting 1..2..3..4.. results in 1 bar of music.
These are called "Quarter notes" because each of them is worth 1/4 of a bar.
Usually groups of 4, 8 or 16 bars make up a section such as a verse or a chorus.
We can hear that About a Girl is built from a 1 bar loop containing 2 chords.
Spend a few minutes understanding the structure of the music - How many bars do we have before the drums come in? How many before the vocals?
If we divide these 4 beats that make up a bar by adding an '&' between each beat, we get:
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
These are called "Eighth notes" because each of them is worth 1/8 of a bar
Now let's consider how this relates to strumming. Your arm only moves in 2 directions when strumming: UP (U) or DOWN (D)
Strum DOWN when counting a NUMBER and strum UP when counting an &
EXERCISES
1
Ex.1 - Down strokes
In this exercise, count both numbers and sub-divisions out loud whilst only strumming DOWN on the numbers
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
D D D D
2
Ex.2 - Down and Up strokes
This time, you'll do the same thing except you'll play the sub-divisions as UP strokes too
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
D U D U D U D U
3
Ex.3 - The "Universal" Strumming pattern.
This is a very common pattern used on countless songs!
Now let's try the strumming pattern for the song without the chord changes. You can either mute the strings or hold any chord you want.
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
D D U U D U
4
Ex.4 - Strumming pattern with chord changes
Em G
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
D D U U D U
The chord changes from Em to G on an upstroke - so half a beat earlier than you might expect. This might take a bit of getting used to. Practise it as much as you can and remember to count!
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