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4/4 Rhythm Strumming

Author: Ian Williamson

If you are learning how to play the guitar, the basic 4/4 strumming technique is one of the first guitar playing techniques that you must be able to master. This is usually used by beginners to hone their guitar skills and get the feel of the instrument.

In learning the basic 4/4 guitar strumming, you must be knowledgeable about the different basic requirements for guitar playing:

Strokes

Guitar strumming is basically composed of two different strokes: the downward stroke and the upward stroke.

The downward stroke is done by drawing the picking hand (usually, this is the right hand) from the uppermost string down to the other side. The upward stroke is the opposite of the downward stroke.

Finger placing

When reading guitar instructional materials, the fingers are usually assigned numbers. The left-hand fingers are numbered from 1 to 4: the index finger is numbered as 1, the middle finger is numbered as 2, the ring finger is number 3 and the little finger is 4. This numbering is important to remember because tablatures show a beginner how to form chords by placing the fingers properly on the fret board.

The fingers of the left hand are supposed to be placed near the succeeding fret bar to ensure that you get quality sounding vibration from the strings. You must remember not to stress your fingers when pressing the frets.

4/4

If are playing the guitar by reading notes, you can refer to the beat shown near the clef sign to determine if the song should be played with a 4/4 beat as this is what you call the time signature. The time signature looks like a fraction when written in musical notation, the upper number tells one how many beats there are in one measure and the bottom number indicates what kind of note will receive one beat.

D-A-G-A

In learning the basic 4/4 guitar strumming, one can use the different chord families when practicing. One of the most popular chord patterns used in practicing this particular technique is the D-A-G-A chord pattern. It’s very popular because the chord patterns are easy to remember and very easy to perform.

You must first memorize the placement of the fingers on the fret board to be able to do the chords. This can take some time and beginners must be patient. Learning the guitar takes time and dedication and cannot be done overnight.

When you are able to master the chords, you should practice doing the chords one after the other, and this is where the 4/4 strumming comes in. In strumming the guitar in a 4/4 rhythm, you should count 1-2-3-4 repeatedly for each chord and shift to the next chord as you repeat the count. You can use downward strokes for each chord when you begin and then practice strumming the chords upward and then downward-upward.

A beginner will almost always find that the left hand is left out when practicing strumming because the fact is that the fingers are still adjusting to doing the chords properly. It will take time and a lot of practice to do the 4/4 strumming technique but it will be worth it.

When the left hand is being left out, you must not stop the right hand and wait for the left hand to form the chord patterns. Be consistent in your counting and strumming to prevent the right hand from becoming slower and train the left hand to be faster in forming the chord patterns.

After you become comfortable doing the 4/4 strumming technique with the D-A-G-A chord pattern, then shift into doing other chord patterns such as C-E-F-G or G-C-F-G. Opt to learn the different chords and familiarize your fingers with forming them. Learning the chords and strumming should be done simultaneously which will allow you to be able to learn at a much faster rate and understand the mechanics behind playing the guitar.

You must remember that the guitar is an instrument of passion and you cannot be a guitar expert in one night. There are many things that you must learn about the guitar to truly appreciate the beauty of the instrument.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/44-rhythm-strumming-25012.html

About the Author
For More Information on Guitar Playing by Ian Williamson please visit http://guitar.you-can-learn.info

Tips on Changing Your Guitar Strings

Author: Axebay

Guitar strings must be changed when they start to look or feel rusty, start breaking, lose their tone and sound, or look dull. It is tough to know how long strings will be good as many factors such as climate, how often (or not) you use your instrument, whether you are playing in a band or just playing at home, will all effect the life of your strings. By and lare, when playing a full night with a band, strings will usually only last 3 – 6 gigs. After that, you risk the embarrassment of breaking a string during one of your amazing solos. Read the rest of this entry »

20 Essential Acoustic Guitar Tips for the Beginner

Author: Ralph Serpe

Acoustic guitar lessons online are not difficult to come by. There are many sites offering free tips and lessons for the beginner, but it can be rather difficult sifting through pages of content to find direct answers to some of the most basic questions beginners have. I researched many of the frequently asked questions that beginners have and created this list of quick acoustic guitar lessons and tips to make life a bit easier for you. I do hope this helps.

1 – Learn how to play the acoustic guitar with both your fingers and your pick. Practice using both. This will make you a more versatile player.

2 – Learn how to use a capo. A capo is a clamp that you can apply to different frets of your guitar to change the pitch. You will definitely need to become familiar with this wonderful tool. If you do not already own one, head out to your local music store and buy one today.

3 – Make sure you choose the right guitar for your size. Guitars come in different sizes from classic to jumbo. It is very important that you find a guitar size that you are comfortable playing.

4 – Learn how to change your strings and change them often. If you do not know how to change your guitar strings yet, stop what you are doing and search for articles and videos online right now. This is very important.

5 – Wash your hands before you play and clean your strings after you play. Dirt and oils from your fingers and hands can wear down your strings.

6 – Build up those calluses. Many beginners complain of pain in their fingertips when first starting out. This is normal and will go away after you have been playing for a little while and start to form calluses. The more often you practice the faster you will build up calluses.

7 – Learn how to tune your guitar. Make sure your guitar is in tune before you start every practice session. Tuning your guitar is really quite easy. You can either purchase one of those small battery powered guitar tuners, or you can tune your guitar online. Just do a search at your favorite search engine using the key phrase “online guitar tuner” and you will find many helpful sites on this topic.

8 – Use YouTube to find free acoustic guitar lessons. Everyone is now familiar with the site YouTube. They have a huge variety of free lessons. Two providers of free lessons that I recommend you check out are: “Next Level Guitar” (goes by the user name “rockongoodpeople”) and “Justinguitar.com” (goes by the username “JustinSandercoeSongs”). They offer some of the best free online acoustic guitar lessons. Highly recommended.

9 – Find a good guitar teacher. While it is possible to learn at your own pace at home using free lessons online, books and home study courses, nothing will replace a guitar teacher. A guitar teacher will help keep you from forming bad guitar playing habits and praise you when you are making progress.

10 – Stretch and warm up your hands and fingers before each playing session. This is important. Proper warm up and stretching exercises are essential in helping you avoid injury and improving your guitar playing. For more information on stretching and warm up exercises, do a search on Google using the key phrase: “guitar warm up”. You will find plenty of tutorials on this subject.

11 – Learn music theory. I know music theory can be boring and difficult, but it is essential learning if you want to become a good guitar player.

12 – Learn about the parts of your guitar. Spend as much time as possible familiarizing yourself with all the various parts of your guitar and how it is constructed.

13 – Learn how to practice. This may seem obvious, but you would be surprised how many guitarists are not practicing correctly. There is definitely a right and a wrong way to practice. Make sure you understand how to make the best out of your practice sessions.

14 – Keep your finger nails on your fretting hand trimmed. Your fingernails on your fretting hand must be kept short. If not, they will most certainly make playing more difficult as they will prevent your fingers from pushing down the strings properly.

15 – Don’t over do it. If you are experiencing any pain or discomfort during your playing or practice session, then stop and take a break.

16 – Try and learn something new. If you continually do the same thing, day after day, then your guitar playing will become stagnant and you will not progress.

17 – Join discussion forums online. Search for guitar discussion forums online and begin discussions with experienced and professional guitarists.

18 – Listen to a variety of different music. Not just your favorite styles either. You would be surprised at how much this can influence your guitar playing.

19 – Learn alternate ways to tune your guitar. Not every song is played in standard tuning.

20 – Go to live performances. This will give you a chance to get up close and personal with the musicians enabling you to see first hand how a professional plays.?

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/20-essential-acoustic-guitar-tips-for-the-beginner-923907.html

About the Author

More free acoustic guitar lessons are just a click away. Visit learn-acoustic-guitar.com today for more great tips including a huge selection of free instructional videos and other great resources for beginners!