Chords/ Horse with No Name

Opps sorry about that I just get excited about playing  ;D

here is a tip for getting the rhythm.  Put down the guitar and tap it out on your leg until you get it.    Once you can tap out the rhythm, strum the side of your leg up and down just as you would if you had the guitar in your hand.  Sing dah-dah-dah to match the chords as you strum.  

Don't pick up the guitar until you feel comfy with the beat.

It's the same thing with playing and singing, break it down to the simplest little chunks you can.

Thanks Nick for your suggestions, I'm going to try that, it's a good song to do it with as there's only the two easy chords.

Bill, you sound like you're having a great time, cool to live near Nashville, and Markyesme - I thought of putting a post up at the local Library for people to jam with, but wasn't too sure about that idea.

Tim, that's really interesting about Carlos S. starting out on the mariachi fiddle, yes he is a genius on the guitar!

Well, back to practising Horse, great thread everyone!

Everyone says that you should find jamming partners.  It's supposed to be the best way to advance.  A friend of mine and I (both of us beginners) are going to get together to work on classical duet pieces.  And I just started in a weekly group that gets together to jam rock.  I don't know enough chords yet to keep up, but I have been playing drums.  Once I have some more chords down, I might provide some acoustic accompaniment.  So, I would recommend you do what you can to find guitar buddies (go to open mikes, ask at music stores, talk to your guitar teacher, etc)

Thanks for the good advice, you've brought up one idea, I have an elderly friend who plays the piano, she might be interested to do some duets etc, I'll try the other suggestions, thanks again .

Hello folks!

I finally managed to get some time off for practicing, and decided to get in on this horse thing.

Beleve it or not, but I have been here before. I tried this lesson some months ago, but gave up cause it seamed pointless. Mostly because I have never heard the song before, so I didn't have a clue to the melody. Maybe that something to include in the lessons?

So this time I started to look for the melody on the net, and found it http://audio.cdbaby.com/rmi/america-16.rm . First it sounded rather dull, but it grows on you, especialy if you play it your self.

Whats really making this a cool song is the pattern, so I think its a good idea of you David to pick a simple chord change, but a more complicated pattern. One gets so much more out of it.

And astokes, I did get myself a guitar. I ended up on a Norman B20 ( http://www.normanguitars.com/modelb20.htm ). If money was no problem, a Taylor or Furch sounds better, but now I love mine. And it smells soo good. I think its the oil on the fretboard:D

Oh, do I have a question? Yes, a short theory one. In the beginning of the F# chord discussion, David mentions some alternative labels, such as Bm7 (add 4)D6 (add 9). If one wants to be more formal, shuldnt one add /F# to these to show that the root is not the lowest. Or have I missunderstod this /-ing thing?

See ya!

/zc

Oh, do I have a question? Yes, a short theory one. In the beginning of the F# chord discussion, David mentions some alternative labels, such as Bm7 (add 4)D6 (add 9). If one wants to be more formal, shuldnt one add /F# to these to show that the root is not the lowest. Or have I missunderstod this /-ing thing?

No, you've got it right. At the risk of sounding like I'm simply defending myself (  ;) ), I plead guilty, at the time of writing this lesson, to not wanting to get all involved in a topic that I figured would drive people away from playing. And the whole point was to get people to see that they could pick up a guitar and play, just like that!

Anyway, ZC is spot on about having fun with patterns. I respect people who want to faithfully recreate what they hear on records, but it's better for your own growth (and enjoyment!) to play around with things. With most strumming, as long as you're keeping the tempo and use the original as a template, you can find yourself coming up with all sorts of variations. This really becomes important when you play with others. If you've got two, three, four guitars, you should have different sounds that work well together.

The other thing to remember is that it's rare for anyone, playing live (recordings, especially nowadays with all the looping and sampling, are an altogether different kettle of fish), to maintain one pattern thoughout a whole song. It may sound like it is, but quite often you'll hear "glitches" in the pattern. To me, that's part of the fun.

Peace

Hi zc, nice guitar! I also got a new one the other day, it's a Cort SF5X - I really like mine too, reasonable price for a pretty good sound, it's an electric acoustic, so I can get a cheap amp and really have some fun! :)

I'm also coming to grips with the theory side, after several years of mainly childcare work my brains a bit like jelly, I'm writing it down in small chunks, it's really like learning a new language, it's slowly falling into place.

Trying out everyone's suggestions for getting the right rhythm and timing is paying off, but still have to keep the voice at low volume, as hubby said to give the singing a miss  :-[ Still, my daughter's starting to sing along with me and she has a really engaging voice - that link will be a help zc, so she can hear how the singing should sound, thanks!

I kinda have the complex rhythm down, no thanks to Mr. Hodge who added the muting in there making my life a living inferno :)

Anyway, with so much stuff happening on the offbeats, my brain is not making the necessary connections to keep up with my metronome, which I am using to try and speed up.  Sooo... I guess tomorrow I will make use of my WinAmp plug that lets me slow MP3's down and I will slow the song down and try and keep the rhythm going as much as possible at the slower speeds as I gradually speed things up to normal. I'll let y'all know how it's going (unless you'd rather I didn't).

Since we are all mention our guitars... I am the proud new owner of a brand new Taylor 314CE and am enjoying it more than I really have a right to.  Although, it has had the side effect of making me appreciate my Spanish nylon guitar for certain things, so I end up playing both of them while I am practicing.

Nice guitar Markyesme!  I like reading people's progress reports, helps me keep my practise going, so keep postin!

PS just downloaded zc's audio link,and it's great!

I have the MP3.  So, that lets me slow it down (or speed it up).  This is often more useful than a metronome for me, as it is often easier to clue in on lyrics or other musical elements for the timing (for me anyway... YMMV).

David,
  I want to say thanks for the mp3 on horse,  I've been wondering if i'm playing it right (and eventhough I haven't yet listened to them) I know they'll help.

OH YEAH!! Thanks for the lesson on Hurt  its was a really good choice.

Hello again!

Just to keep you posted on my progression, I have pretty much naild down the basic strumming pattern. I now try to match that with the song.

For you who have problems getting the rythm down, here is how I did it. I started with siple 1, 2, 3, 4 to get the chord change. Then I started on the pattern, with out chord change. Simply counting out 1 and 2 and 3 etc real slow. It helps the rythm a lot to mute on 2, 3 and 4 by the way. As I have little time to practice on guitar, I did some practicing on my leg in between and picking up speed. Then I got the cords and the pattern together.

Thats where I am now. I try to get the song to this, but can yet only manage a simple 1,2,3,4 pattern with the song, but I am working on it. I think I have to become more relaxed with the more advanced pattern to get it working with the song.

What is the plan for next lesson, second horsie or?

Cool guitars you all have. I had a look at a Cort Earth 100, but didn't like the sound of it. Also a bit to high action. But it is an exelent beginner guitar for that price, as Cort seams to have a drive on that one right now.

Have fun practicing

/zc

David,

I just went through horse and downloaded the mp3's, believe it or not but its already helping.  But I have to wonder if you plan to go back and do the same for any other lessons that didn't previously have mp3's??