1 Topic by nmontgomery (edited by nmontgomery 2008-09-22 20:13:19)

  • Registered: 2008-09-22
  • Posts: 9

Topic: strum patterns and chord progressions

I've always been pretty musically inclined. I picked up a guitar a few days ago and have caught on pretty quickly i'm having a problem combining strum patterns and chord progressions and singing the lyrics

Example:

G            Em     C    D
Drew looks at me, I fake a smile so he won't see

the strum pattern is D-U-D-D-U

i dont quite know if i'm making any sense but my question is between the C and D i dont understand how to finish the strum pattern so quickly before i'm supposed to sing at fake or do I change chords in the middle of a strum pattern? I've certainly confused myself with this post but I'm hoping that someone can make sense of it and help me.


Thanks,
Naomi

  • From: Ipswich, UK
  • Registered: 2008-05-20
  • Posts: 101

Re: strum patterns and chord progressions

Hi Naomi. Welcome to the forum.  smile

I'm not familiar with the song you mention, but yes, for sure you can change chords mid-strum pattern.

The time to be happy, is NOW !

Freshman acoustic, IbanezGAX70, MarshallMG15cd, Digitech:RP100
  • Registered: 2008-09-22
  • Posts: 9

Re: strum patterns and chord progressions

Thank you radchael1975 its Teardrops on My Guitar by Taylor Swift and thank you i've been trying to wrap my hand around that.

one more thing for anyone who wants to post, any tips on making it easier on a beginner to change chords?

  • KAP54
  • Honoured Member
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  • From: London Ontario Canada
  • Registered: 2008-06-04
  • Posts: 1,746

Re: strum patterns and chord progressions

Hi Naomi smile Welcome to Chordie
For me when I am writing and am playing the guitar it is more the feel you have in mind for the sound you are trying to accomplish.There is no rhyme or reason,it's what makes you the writer feel satisfied.By the sounds of your post you have only been playing a short time and this could be why you feel confused as it takes time to develop the proper strumming technique.It is difficult for anyone new to guitar to be able to strum,remember where to put your fingers for chords and sing at the same time
Keep at the practicing and writing and in the mean time you should post some of your songs up in the songwriting section for solid feedback and practice. smile

I'm no pro but I hope it helps.

Kap54

Just Keepin on Keepin on
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  • Registered: 2008-09-22
  • Posts: 9

Re: strum patterns and chord progressions

thanks and i have a few songs that i was going to put up there's no better place to get honest feed back about something than an open forum lol

6 Reply by NELA (edited by NELA 2008-09-23 13:48:21)

  • NELA
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  • From: West Monroe, La. 71292
  • Registered: 2007-11-28
  • Posts: 1,303

Re: strum patterns and chord progressions

nmontgomery, welcome to Chordie. Here's a tip for you that I wished someone had told me about a lot sooner than they did.

In the chord progression you mentioned - G...Em...C...D, they are all open chords. Study the fingerings for these chord formations and you will see that when going from a G chord to an Em chord you never have to lift your index finger to form an Em chord. When changing from an Em chord to a C chord you never have to lift your middle finger. You just rotate your wrist, leave the "key" finger down and form the next chord. There are many chords in different progressions that allow you to not have to move certian fingers to form the next chord. Go to the "resources" section and look at the different chords. Click on any of the chords and you will see the many variations of that chord. It will take time but as you study and pracitce you will begin to see the common points of each chords. Another hint is to learn to form your open G chord with your middle, ring and pinky fingers. If you learn this formation it will be much easier to go to a C chord or even to a G7 chord. It just take study and practice.

Nela

NELA's Website

  • From: Texas
  • Registered: 2008-08-05
  • Posts: 256

Re: strum patterns and chord progressions

Hi Naomi

I'm not sure if this is the answer your looking for but I'll try ... a lot of times when I'm doing a strumming pattern and there is a quick change between chords I'll either do an "open" strum of all the strings for a transition into the next chord or I'll do a palm mute of the chord I'm playing into and then do the actual chord

"Rhythm drives the Rock-n-Roll train"

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  • Registered: 2007-01-03
  • Posts: 36

Re: strum patterns and chord progressions

Hello nmontgomery.
I have to say that the very first thing that struck me about your post is that you've only been playing for a very short while. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that you're having some of these problems and I think you'll find that in almost every response the one thing everybody here can agree on without a doubt is that practice makes the difference.
I hear what NELA is saying about finger position, but personally - and this is just me - I don't like that approach for two reasons. One is that it actually adds another thing to learn/remember and the other is that it can sometimes result in incorrect finger technique which might come back to haunt you later when you're learning many more chords.
My advice is to learn the chords properly, one at a time and just keep practicing until they become second nature and you no longer have to think about where you're putting your fingers. What is helpful, if you're at the stage where you can do it, is to practice other songs as well which will build on the flexibility to switch between the chords in different ways. For instance, another good song to try with the same chords you mention is "Time of Your Life".
I guess the point is that just as you have to walk before you can run, you also have to learn chords and how to switch between them before you can get too worried about mastering strum patterns techniques.
Just my two cents worth :-)