GuitarNet Guitar Lesson: Rhythm Guitar Basics Part 1

Rhythm Guitar Basics

Learning how to strum chords is one of the first things that most guitarists do. If you’re a singer, and you want to learn the guitar so that you can accompany yourself, you may only be interested in learning rhythm guitar. Even if you play in a band, you’ll probably be playing rhythm guitar more than anything else. In this guitarnet.info lesson, we’ll show you the basics of chord and rhythm playing.

Below is a basic chord sequence. You may be presented with one similar to this if you join a band, or are accompanying a singer. Many songbooks have the chords printed over the melody and lyrics.

In this sequence, there are only three chords: A, D and E7 (see the basic chords lesson for the chord shapes). However, it’s how they are played that makes all the difference. This lesson will demonstrate four ways of playing the chord sequence that you can learn and then adapt to make your own chord strumming patterns. You can also use the strumming patterns shown here with different chords, and at different tempos.

Firstly, make sure that you can play each of the chords cleanly. Play them on their own at first, and get used to forming your fingers into the necessary shapes. Once you can do this with each chord, you’re ready to begin. At this stage, it’s best to use a plectrum to strum the chords, using a steady downwards action across the strings.

Rhythm Pattern 1

The first pattern is fairly basic, with just one strum per beat. Listen to the demonstration being played, then try to copy it, playing at a much lower tempo to get used the strumming action.

Hear the pattern being played by clicking here.

Rhythm Pattern 2

The second pattern introduces an upwards strum. The third beat should be strummed downwards as usual, but the strings should be strummed again as the hand goes up ready for the fourth beat. Listen to the demonstration to hear how it should sound. Again, take it very slowly at first, playing at a much slower tempo than the demonstration.

Hear the pattern being played by clicking here.

Rhythm Guitar Basics Lesson Part 2

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