I'm a member of a small church band and have recently started learning guitar. Mostly for myself, but I'd also love to play in the band.
Now, we already have two guitarists who are a lot better than me, so learning the songs the same way they've learned them isn't going to allow me to make a contribution to the overall sound.
On the other hand, since I've also started learning music theory and technical aspects of guitar, I can practice some "frilly" playing.
I'm looking for some resources that can help me in this regard. For example, if the song is in GCD, what alternative chords (and strumming patterns) can I derive to accompany rather than lead?
I'd do a search (I'm certain there must be a few articles of that nature here), but sadly I don't know what terminology to look for. "Frilly playing", "Fill", "Rythm" didn't do the trick :D
P.S. I've been learning for about a month (hour a day), now, to give you an idea of my level of competence.
Thanks!
One easy thing to try is to pluck the lowest string of the chord before you strum the entire chord. For instance, with a C chord, pluck the A string before strumming the chord.
You can also use arpeggios. I don't know if you use fingers or picks, but if you strum with your fingers, you can create patterns where you hold a chord and pick any of the strings within that chord.
If you play in G major, you can use any of the chords in the G major scale, like A minor, E minor, etc- this is slightly past my realm of theory knowledge. :oops: but here's an excellent article on what chords work well together (there is a box for C and G about halfway down): A Before E (Except After C)
Also, learn to use both upstrokes and downstrokes- you can play faster this way and the sound will have a different "quality" to it depending on what stroke you use.
I know it is probably better to use full chords, but you can also try power chords, which are 2 or 3 string chords. These are pretty easy to do, and there are a few articles floating around this site about that topic. With power chords, you can learn how to only play 2 (or 3) strings and since each string is fretted, you can mute the strings by having you fretting fingers lay lightly on the strings instead of pressing down to the fret.
These are all little things that can make you sound a lot better, depending on how you use them. I hope these tips help!
"All I see is draining me on my Plastic Fantastic Lover!"
It sounds like what you are aiming for is to sit back and play rhythm.
The best practice I have found for rhythm playing is to just go through a bunch of songs and just strum my way through them.
The easy song database section of this forum is a great place to do this.
Try using a capo, and play in another key. Or use barre chords, instead of the normal open chords.
