Guitar Noise

If you’re going to play an emotionally charged song, you can’t hide behind a single strumming pattern. In this lesson we take one of the highlight songs from Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” and arrange it for a single guitar, using many strumming and crosspicking techniques we’ve gone over in our Guitar Noise Podcast series. You’re going to have a lot of fun with this one!

Guitarists nowadays think of rhythm in terms of “up” and “down,” the motions of strumming, instead of thinking of rhythm in much simpler terms – numbers and counting. In this, the first of a series of four articles, we begin to hone our strumming techniques so that any rhythmic pattern will be within our grasp.

When you’re starting out, sometimes it seems like your hands have a mind of their own. Maybe even two minds, since you have two hands! Josh Urban explores how using a little psychology can help you to get faster and cleaner in making your chord changes.

Getting better at making chord changes is an early goal for every guitarist. Graham discusses how using the art of visualization can help you develop smooth chord changes, both in learning new chords and in practicing the ones you already know.

Here is a wonderfully detailed, step by step tutorial for those who are having a bit of trouble with their strumming. Matt’s put together a series of exercises designed to jump start your rhythm guitar playing and it’s a great read, too!

Tom, who goes by Noteboat on our forum pages, is already pretty well known and respected by our forum members or those who’ve bought and read his book on theory. He now contributes a terrific piece on how to practice keeping the beat. Staying in rhythm is probably one of the most important things a guitarist (or any musician) can do and Tom’s article will help you to get better at this.

Let’s tackle strumming patterns; how to learn them and get them down pat. Here’s an approach that will simplify the whole issue surrounding strumming patterns.