Teaching Mobile Guitars All Over The East Bay
Mobile is one of the hot words these days – everything is going mobile.For businesses in the East bay of California, if you’re not mobile, you’re dying on the vine. I took my guitar/banjo lessons business in the East Bay mobile a couple of years ago. Of course, I don’t teach guitar over an Adroid or iPhone – by mobile I mean – I come to the student instead of the student having to come into a music shop or studio for guitar lessons.
I have been teaching aspiring musicians at all levels and ages guitar, banjo, mandolin, electric bass, and uke for over 40 years. One of the most common questions is how to come up with strumming patterns that will sound interesting?
I have created (3) interesting patterns that are to be learned at a very slow speed. I8 recommend using a metronome which is free on internet. I recommend starting as slow as 50 beats per minute and add 10 beats at a time until you get up to about 120. That could take days or months depending on what level you are at of course.
These 3 patterns can work on either electric or acoustic steel string guitar. All three patterns use rhythm slash notations in which you apply fingering pressure of your chord you are playing. If you see and {X)that means to mute the chord with allowing your fingering hand on fret board to release the pressure but still keep the chord fingering in place. This creates a real cool percussive clicking rhythmic sound. The chor5d of choice for these 3 patterns is known a C9th dominant chord which groups that play Rhythm and Blues and Funk use all the time.
Pattern 1 is using sixteenth notes which mean four strums per beat. You count sixteenth notes in a four beat per measure as following: 1ee & ah, 2 ee & ah, 3 ee & ah and 4 ee & ah. You alternate your strumming hand with down and up strumming. You are simply applying chording finger pressure only on first sixteenth note of each of the four beats. The other three sixteenth notes of each beat are muted with chording hand on guitar. Please practice very slowly.
Pattern 2 we accenting the first sixteenth note of each beat except notice on beat 3 I’m displacing the accent on the second sixteenth note which creates a new sound.
Pattern 3 incorporates sliding in to c9 from one fret below known as the half step approach from below. So only beat one is different than Pattern 2. Notice you strum B9 on first sixteenth note of beat o9ne and simply slide up with chording hand to c9 but do not strum c9 chord. Simply produce c9th chord by sliding up to it from B9th chord. Then on the 3rd and fourth sixteenth notes you mute them with chording hand and then beats two, three and four are as same as pattern 2.
In closing, you must listen to different recordings to check this style of rhythm guitar out. Go to You Tube and listen to:
- James Brown – I Feel Good
- The Average White Band – Pick up the Pieces
- Soul Vaccination by East Bay greats Tower Of Power
Keep on Strumming
Download Guitar Lesson Rhythm Patterns
Leave a Reply