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Lesson 1 of 5

Boom-chick

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Boom-chick is the backbone of country rhythm. The "boom" is a single bass note on beats 1 and 3; the "chick" is a short strum of the top strings on beats 2 and 4. You're playing the bass player and the snare drum at once.

We're in the key of G, using open G, C and D chords; the last exercise moves to D, with D and A.

How to play it

  • Hold the full chord shape the whole time. Only your pick moves.
  • Pick the bass note with a downstroke, then brush the top three or four strings with another downstroke.
  • In the second exercise the bass alternates: root on beat 1, then the fifth on beat 3. On C, move your ring finger from the A string to fret 3 of the low E for the G bass note, then back.

It should sound like a steady "boom-chick, boom-chick", with the bass slightly louder than the strum.

The most common mistake is strumming too many strings on the "chick", so the bass gets swallowed. Aim for the top three or four strings only, and lift your fretting-hand pressure a little after each strum to keep it short.

Practice with a metronome on 2 and 4 if you can: it forces the backbeat to lock in.

Exercises

Root and strum on C and G

70 → 120 bpm
  1. Bar 1
    1. A string, fret 3
    2. D string, fret 2 + G string, open + B string, fret 1 + high E string, open
    3. A string, fret 3
    4. D string, fret 2 + G string, open + B string, fret 1 + high E string, open
  2. Bar 2
    1. low E string, fret 3
    2. G string, open + B string, open + high E string, fret 3
    3. low E string, fret 3
    4. G string, open + B string, open + high E string, fret 3

Clean 3 times in a row? Raise the tempo by 5 bpm.

Alternating bass: G, C, G, D

70 → 140 bpm
  1. Bar 1
    1. low E string, fret 3
    2. G string, open + B string, open + high E string, fret 3
    3. D string, open
    4. G string, open + B string, open + high E string, fret 3
  2. Bar 2
    1. A string, fret 3
    2. D string, fret 2 + G string, open + B string, fret 1 + high E string, open
    3. low E string, fret 3
    4. D string, fret 2 + G string, open + B string, fret 1 + high E string, open
  3. Bar 3
    1. low E string, fret 3
    2. G string, open + B string, open + high E string, fret 3
    3. D string, open
    4. G string, open + B string, open + high E string, fret 3
  4. Bar 4
    1. D string, open
    2. G string, fret 2 + B string, fret 3 + high E string, fret 2
    3. A string, open
    4. G string, fret 2 + B string, fret 3 + high E string, fret 2

Clean 3 times in a row? Raise the tempo by 5 bpm.

Boom-chick in D: D and A

70 → 140 bpm
  1. Bar 1
    1. D string, open
    2. G string, fret 2 + B string, fret 3 + high E string, fret 2
    3. A string, open
    4. G string, fret 2 + B string, fret 3 + high E string, fret 2
  2. Bar 2
    1. A string, open
    2. D string, fret 2 + G string, fret 2 + B string, fret 2 + high E string, open
    3. low E string, open
    4. D string, fret 2 + G string, fret 2 + B string, fret 2 + high E string, open

Clean 3 times in a row? Raise the tempo by 5 bpm.

Checkpoint

Move on when you can do all of these.

  • Alternating bass clean at 140 bpm for 4 loops
  • Bass notes ring on 1 and 3; strums are short and crisp on 2 and 4
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