I bought a DVD by SongExpress that has a great version of John Lennon's Imagine. The intro to the song is fingerpicking which the teacher shows in great detail how to do then the pre-chorus and chorus go into a strum. The instructor does not show her strum technique at all and the camera only focuses on the chords. It sounds like she is strumming with a bit of a percussive technique on every other and count ( 1 and 2 (and/hit)). How is this accomplished without slowing down the strum? Does it just take practice to hit your hand on the guitar between strums? I feel like a klutz.
I really like this version and want to learn - all of the others version I have seen are completely fingerpicked and I don't like the sound to it.
You might want to check David's lesson on Imagine.
Well we all shine on--like the moon and the stars and the sun.
-- John Lennon
I didn't care for his - it's all fingerpicking.
http://ultimate-guitar.com/tabs/j/john_lennon/imagine_ver4_crd.htm
Maybe? Not sure if that'll help.
Its hard to comment on the strumming pattern for the version you want to learn as I can't hear it.
Depending on how she is doing the percussion part, there are two techniques that come to mind;
1) Hitting your hand on the body of the guitar in between strums without muting the strings. This can be done, and does just take practice. Take is v-e-r-y slowly and build your way up to fuller speeds while doing it.
2) The other way to do the "hit" part is to quickly and firmly strike the strings with your fingernails in a downward strike while quickly muting the strings with the side of the hand. This creates a sort of "chunking" sound (used by Jack Johnson in "Better Together" if you've heard it) which again is just down to practice.
Pete
ETD - Formerly "10141748 - Reincarnate"
Thanks Pete - I will try both of those techniques, slowly. I have tried hitting the guitar between strums but like I said I fill like a klutz and doesn't really sound like her - probably because I am doing slowly and akwardly.
