write about rhythms and other times about patterns. This refers to the same thing. By the way, often several different patterns fit to the same song, but not always.
Chords and their changes
Often people ask me when to change chords. Well, on the one hand the chords are usually written above the corresponding text passage which you can find on the Internet or in books. At that point where the new chord is written, that’s where the old chord has to be replaced, it’s that simple. But sometimes neither the text passage nor the chord is correct, unfortunately. Then you should look for different versions of the song. That sometimes happens to the author because of different formats and programs that he or she is working with. But on the other hand at some point you must develop a feeling for the best timing when to change chords. That just happens to be a real matter of feeling, just like a rhythm.
That is why you should always start with really easy songs if you still have problems with it, like for instance “Lady in black“, “The drunken sailor“, “Hymn“ and “Tom Dooley“, each with 2 chords. A really great song to practice changing chords is an old and popular tune. It has many chord changes, that’ s how you learn it best. Each chord is strummed one or more times and you can hear inevitably that you have to change the chord. Practice it with single strums. For each chord symbol you strum down on the guitar with the thumb on your right hand.
Three important symbols
Now I will show you those symbols that will be important for you. There are only very few, we do want to keep everything as simple as possible. You need them to be able to play a rhythm with you right hand.
I have drawn a diagram for you below. It represents a section of the fingerboard of a guitar, namely the part of the strings just above the sound hole. This is nothing more than the view of the strings above the sound hole. Now this is not about frets anymore, like with the chords, but about the six strings as such. Here, the bass strings are again at the bottom and the treble strings on top.
A thick black dot in my figures always represents a picking of the bass.
The arrow pointing up means: you have to strum/stroke the marked strings on the guitar downwards (Down).
The arrow pointing down means: you have to strum/stroke the marked strings on the guitar upwards (Up).
All the figures that I will show you start from the left. So here, first the picking, then one Down and one Up. Later, the fingerpicking-labels will be added to the mere picking patterns. So far everything clear?
Here, below the text, you have a good example of a song that is strummed with only one Down. Of course you can accompany every song like this, each with a single very light down before you have to confidence to try the various patterns. This is simple but a good method to first develop a sense of rhythm. For each bold word, you make a strum downwards over the strings with your right thumb.
Picking or strumming
There are two different ways to play chords on the guitar: picking and strumming.
For this we can use our free hand (usually the right hand since most people are right handed) or a nice little tool called a plectrum (a plastic plate, also simply called a pick).
Picking is carried out with your thumb because the thumb of the right hand points downwards while playing, in fact only in this direction. Soon we will need the thumb, especially for picking the bass. The picking with the other fingers is performed from the bottom to the top. Fortunately, they are arranged on the hand in such a way that it hardly works differently.
You strum the strings either only with your loose thumb, the fingernails of your right hand or the plectrum. Each of these playing varieties has its advantages and disadvantages, or rather its distinct qualities.
With your thumb, you cannot create any loud sounds. Instead, you can play in a wonderful delicate way with it. With the fingernails of the right hand, you can already play much louder if required. Strumming downwards and upwards (upwards always with your thumbnail) as such is not a problem. However, if you’re strumming and also want to pick the bass in the same rhythm, then this already requires some practice and proper playing.
The plectrum is also something nice, it can make a lot of noise and covers a lot of technical inaccuracies. It is very easy to strum downwards and upwards with the plectrum. But if you play with the plectrum exclusively, then the fine motor skills of your right hand will not be trained. And that would be a shame. That is why I think the plectrum is only partially suitable for beginners. But you should definitely learn how to handle it because it allows individual strings to be emphasized. And at a campfire it acts like an amplifier.
The "pick" itself is a tool for an instrument and this technique has to be learned properly at first. But if you try these techniques out every now and then, then in the long run they shouldn’t be a problem. Time and practice will make you improve. That's the beauty of making your own music, it never goes back, only forward. And one day, not too far away, you will master even these techniques and play like countless guitarists in the world, loose, free and happy.
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