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Lesson 1 of 4

The folk strum

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This is the strum behind thousands of folk and pop songs: down, down-up, up-down-up. Count eighth notes, "1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &", and strum on 1, 2, & of 2, & of 3, 4, & of 4.

The key is G major, with open G, C and D. Downstrokes hit all the strings of the chord; upstrokes only catch the top three or four.

Keep the arm moving

Your strumming arm moves down on every number and up on every "&", like a pendulum, all the time. On beat 3 and the "&" of 1 it simply misses the strings. That's what keeps the rhythm locked: you never decide when to move, only when to touch the strings.

The most common mistake is stopping the arm on the missed strokes, which makes the pattern lurch. Play the pattern on muted strings first, saying "down, down-up, up-down-up" out loud.

Hold the pick loosely so it glides across the strings; aim for an even, bright sound with the downbeats a little stronger.

Exercises

Down, down-up, up-down-up on G

70 → 110 bpm
  1. Bar 1
    1. low E string, fret 3 + A string, fret 2 + D string, open + G string, open + B string, open + high E string, fret 3, hold
    2. low E string, fret 3 + A string, fret 2 + D string, open + G string, open + B string, open + high E string, fret 3
    3. G string, open + B string, open + high E string, fret 3, hold
    4. G string, open + B string, open + high E string, fret 3
    5. low E string, fret 3 + A string, fret 2 + D string, open + G string, open + B string, open + high E string, fret 3
    6. G string, open + B string, open + high E string, fret 3

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

The strum through G, C, G, D

70 → 110 bpm
  1. Bar 1
    1. low E string, fret 3 + A string, fret 2 + D string, open + G string, open + B string, open + high E string, fret 3, hold
    2. low E string, fret 3 + A string, fret 2 + D string, open + G string, open + B string, open + high E string, fret 3
    3. G string, open + B string, open + high E string, fret 3, hold
    4. G string, open + B string, open + high E string, fret 3
    5. low E string, fret 3 + A string, fret 2 + D string, open + G string, open + B string, open + high E string, fret 3
    6. G string, open + B string, open + high E string, fret 3
  2. Bar 2
    1. A string, fret 3 + D string, fret 2 + G string, open + B string, fret 1 + high E string, open, hold
    2. A string, fret 3 + D string, fret 2 + G string, open + B string, fret 1 + high E string, open
    3. G string, open + B string, fret 1 + high E string, open, hold
    4. G string, open + B string, fret 1 + high E string, open
    5. A string, fret 3 + D string, fret 2 + G string, open + B string, fret 1 + high E string, open
    6. G string, open + B string, fret 1 + high E string, open
  3. Bar 3
    1. low E string, fret 3 + A string, fret 2 + D string, open + G string, open + B string, open + high E string, fret 3, hold
    2. low E string, fret 3 + A string, fret 2 + D string, open + G string, open + B string, open + high E string, fret 3
    3. G string, open + B string, open + high E string, fret 3, hold
    4. G string, open + B string, open + high E string, fret 3
    5. low E string, fret 3 + A string, fret 2 + D string, open + G string, open + B string, open + high E string, fret 3
    6. G string, open + B string, open + high E string, fret 3
  4. Bar 4
    1. D string, open + G string, fret 2 + B string, fret 3 + high E string, fret 2, hold
    2. D string, open + G string, fret 2 + B string, fret 3 + high E string, fret 2
    3. G string, fret 2 + B string, fret 3 + high E string, fret 2, hold
    4. G string, fret 2 + B string, fret 3 + high E string, fret 2
    5. D string, open + G string, fret 2 + B string, fret 3 + high E string, fret 2
    6. 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.

Alternating bass with a strum on G and C

70 → 110 bpm
  1. Bar 1
    1. low E string, fret 3, hold
    2. G string, open + B string, open + high E string, fret 3
    3. G string, open + B string, open + high E string, fret 3
    4. D string, open, hold
    5. G string, open + B string, open + high E string, fret 3
    6. G string, open + B string, open + high E string, fret 3
  2. Bar 2
    1. A string, fret 3, hold
    2. D string, fret 2 + G string, open + B string, fret 1 + high E string, open
    3. D string, fret 2 + G string, open + B string, fret 1 + high E string, open
    4. low E string, fret 3, hold
    5. D string, fret 2 + G string, open + B string, fret 1 + high E string, open
    6. D string, fret 2 + G string, open + B string, fret 1 + 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.

  • Strum pattern steady on G at 110 bpm for 2 minutes
  • Chord changes land on beat 1 at 110 bpm
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