Reading Rhythms and Applied Strumming Patterns

The last several posts have been geared towards introducing chords in a formulaic manner to students while only slightly touching on the subject of how to strum them. In this month’s post I will broach the topic of strumming with quarter and eighth note rhythms. As I stated in Chord Basics, pt. II – when presenting chords for the first time it is also a good idea to introduce music notation – specifically rhythmic values. Rhythmic notation is a great visual aid and will help students understand what they are doing physically when strumming when playing rhythm guitar.

When first starting to read and strum rhythms I recommend having students play through various permutations of single measure quarter and eighth note combinations; the chart below outlines several examples. The best chords for these are those that require using 5 or 6 strings so the player can focus on the strumming pattern and not hitting the correct strings. 

Have the student use a single chord as they play through all the patterns; don’t even worry about switching chords at this point – strumming is the focus. There are several things to keep in mind. 

• Write in how to count the rhythms, so students understand how to count the rhythm before playing.
•  Have students say the rhythm out loud before playing – if they can’t say it, they can’t play it. 
• Write in strumming marks because students will need that visual reference when reading. 

Reading rhythmic notation is a great way for students to begin building a strumming vocabulary and as they progress the rhythms you introduce can become more complicated. I’ll revisit the topic of reading rhythms and applied strumming patterns in the future posts.