3/4 time strums

I think I hijacked the "reading music" thread; but time signature practice, which is a part of reading music, deserves it own threads.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/user/MusicTeacher2010#p/search/0/hu6nE_Mifeg[/video]

in lieu of not owning a metronome at this time, this is useful playalong video.

I'm going to try and change some tunes to these strums and FEEL the difference.

He says "feel the difference" don't hear a difference.

yeah Suzuk, I use a lot of Music Mikes videos. He is cool and pretty thorough in his explanations. A little better at that than Aldrine for me. Yes, I really do think it is a feel thing. I have had a metronome for many years and never use it. I think tapping your foot is a really good way to get a feel for your timing (watch Jake sometime, when sitting, sometimes he really gets that foot going In others you can just see it in their body movement (watch Ken Middleton some and you will see he feels the rhythm a lot with his body. I think it just comes with time and playing different rhythms. Good Luck!! Lozark

Looks like a great video. I don't really understand were "metronomes" get their bad name from. Real pro musicians use them, so why wouldn't us amateurs?

He has a great point with feel versus hear. Plucked and strummed instruments like guitar and ukulele are as much parts of the percussion family as they are the string family (though they are generally considered strings). Percussionists directly feel the music more than any other musician because of how they move to make the sound. Great idea, there!

Keep up the good work, Suzuk!

~DB

Hi SuzukHammer, I would suggest getting a metronome. Playing along with a video is a good thing too as long as the person on the video has good time or "meter". Of course advanced players like Jake or Aldrine and Ukulele Mike have excellent meter, not so much being born with it, but working at it. In fact that would be a good question for Aldrine, how he developed his meter. It is common for amatures like me to speed up and slow down and not even notice. I record myself and play it back as I match my starting tempo to a metronome to see where I may be changing the tempo. I'm working on IZ's version of 'Rainbow' and find by the time I finish the song I've sped up several 'Beats Per Minute'. So I play the trouble spots to a metronome, for me I get anxious making verse to chorus changes and tend to speed up. You have the right idea even being aware that meter is important and should be considered.
DAP

I speed up on some chord changes. I have no idea why; but its obviously a patience problem or forgetting the path for a short period.

Trying to keep the timing has helped my strumming and hence my chord progressions. Imagine,, I have some semblance to those Jack Johnson songs I really like!! Now that is cool.

When people say DDU chuck UDDU. It didn't mean anything to me. But maybe I can pull Ukulele Mike's temp feel in with Aldrine's catalogue of strums. I'll have a strum boot camp of strum and timing.

I anticipate that the rests and their role in establishing the beat will be key.

I was going to ask if rests are ways to keep the same time signature; but, I do hear even the subtle short rests have their place in some songs. As a beginner music reader, I admit that I don't pay my respects to rests and that may be a source of timing problems.

Also since I'm learning, I'll make a fast halfhearted run across portions I know of a song to get to a point of the song to play. Its almost like I do Alvin and the Chipmunks to songs; but they have better rhythm.


oh, lastly, I had found myself playing different strum patterns and speeds to different parts of songs. Or feeling it with chord progressions.
Now, that I have a sense for 3/4 strums, I have done what Ukulele Mike says to change the tempo and that has helped me in my chaotic changes I made before. It seems like now, I'm trying to make the strum and timing have a better flow.

Time signatures and rhythms are the only reason why guitar players (and ukulele players) haven't been able to lead a successful revolt against standard music notation and have it replaced with things like tablature. I just wish someone would come up with an effective way of reading tab (without the music notation) and see the rhythm. I mean, I understand two quarter notes, a triplet, and a quarter rest, but I can't see the rhythm of five numbers written on a string!

That is my best argument for people learning to read music as opposed to chords and lyrics. You will never regret learning to read and you will be a better player for putting in the effort!

SH, thanks for introducing such a great series of topics to the forum!!!

~DB