Yeah, I know we do guitar strumming here, but I couldn’t pass this one up. http://rstrum.com This is the only lesson I’ve ever seen Paul teach. It’s even useful for guitarists. Notice the way he emphasize the thumping rhythm on each beat. The guitar strummers need to always keep that same beat in mind. Check out our Easy Guitar Techniques library for lots of info on how to develop this part of your playing. Peace out, Jenn
Ok, so this isn’t exactly RhythmStrumming, but it’s still awesome simple acoustic playing, so I’m getting you in on it. http://rstrum.com In Verse 2, you’ll see some basic strumming where Paul is just lifting one finger on each chord to give the strum and sound more forward motion. Several lessons in our Easy Guitar Techniques library delve into the rudiments of this kind of skill.
What do you think? Peace, Jennifer
Lots of the videos out there show off how complicated you can get with a guitar, but this video (http://rstrum.com) shows how what little you really need before you can get into a musical flow. That is the essence of RhythmStrumming. Break the song down into its simplest constituents- strumming and chords, and then add some singing and that’s all you need.
George uses a couple of little bells and whistles, but mostly, this is a bare-bones performance that lacks nothing. 
Jen
photo by [KristenWall]
Hi Everyone,
I have been having some thoughts on guitar practicing routines, and how to the get most out of one. I remember once reading something that fingerpicking guitarist Pat Donahue said, something to effect of, “Once you learn to enjoy the daily mundane aspects of practicing its only a matter of time before you get good.” I think this is very true. If you want to reach a certain level of musicianship you have to put in the hard, lonely work that is not necessarily fun. I would rather rip through some easy guitar songs and my cool licks, than sit and practice right hand technique and tone production. But in reality i will get more out of working on my technique and tone than playing through songs and riffs that i already know and can play well. A certain amount of practice needs to be a bit challenging and difficult enough so you work on it and reach that next level of playing ability. That might be learning a new chord or two each practice session, working up some variations for bluegrass fiddle tune, or learning to strum and sing that new song.
I do think that music making should be fun, sitting there and playing your guitar should not feel difficult and laborious. But i feel that some of the fun and satisfaction comes from a job well done, and the feeling that you worked through a new aspect of technique or a new piece till you got it right.
I definitely make time in my music practice for purely fun stuff, like playing a bunch of tunes i know well. But lately i have been making sure that i put in adequate time improving my right hand technique, both fingerstyle and with a flatpick. I am hoping it will pay off later on down the line.
I can’t quite remember where i first heard this, but here are three main points i think about before picking up my guitar to practice. These can apply to any guitar player, no matter the style, or any musician on any instrument. They are Tempo, Tone, and Timing.
I think the most important one is obviously Tuning. If you can’t play your instrument in tune it will be difficult for others to play with you. And it won’t sound that great. I remember sitting at coffee shop listening to some guy plunking on an obviously out of tune banjo. Someone commented that it was out of tune, and he replied that he found it more interesting that way. While it may have been true for him, it was certainly not interesting for the listeners. So whenever i take my instrument out of its case i always turn on the guitar tuner and tune up, even if i am just going to play a few easy guitar songs.
Guitar tone is a very subjective one. There are many different tonal varieties possible on the guitar, and who is to say that mine is better than yours? I think the important thing is that are you happy with the tone you are producing, and is your tone consistent throughout a song or series of notes? Think about the ideal guitar tone you are hearing in your head and constantly strive to be moving towards that. This is a process that can take some time. For example, if you strum and sing guitar songs do you want your chords to sound bright and snappy, or perhaps something warmer and darker? Often times strumming with a thinner guitar pick will produce a brighter and crisper sound, whereas a thicker pick will result in a tone that is warmer and darker, without as much projection. Being that i mostly play fingerpicking guitar my ideal tone is something that is warm and full, yet has some added crispness and brightness on top. To work towards this i pick the string with a combination of my fingertip and a bit of nail. The fingertip makes the tone warm and richer, and the string also contacting the nail gives it some brightness and a bit more volume.
The final T is timing. I think after tuning this is the most important, especially when playing with other musicians. Timing is the ability to stay at a consistent speed throughout a song, play notes at the correct moment, and being able to play together with other musicians. This is very important, since music is essentially about the relationship between a series of notes. If you can’t play these notes in correct timing to one another then the musical statement will be changed. A metronome is a great tool to make sure you can stay at a consistent speed throughout a song. Set the metronome to comfortable speed, and play. If the metronome sounds like its speeding up, then you are slowing down at some point, and if sounds like its slowing down then you are actually speeding up. The metronome never lies.
Having a good base of timing by practicing on your own with a metronome will help when playing with other musicians, but to a large degree the best way to develop timing playing with others is just to do it. It takes a different kind of sensitivity going from just listening to your guitar to having to also listen to the other instruments around you.
So keep these three principals in mind next you pick your instrument and get ready to practice. Good Tuning, Tone, and Timing are something that all musicians and listeners will recognize and appreciate.
