Chords for 3 Strumming Exercises to Improve Your Music

_ Hey guys, what's going on?
It's Matt here.
Hope you're all doing well.
God's doing big things in your life
I want to go over the most important topic that by far by far
The biggest question I get asked is strumming strumming it
_ It's so tricky and I feel like so many people teach it wrong
I was taught wrong when I was younger and it wasn't till someone showed me the other ways when it really started clicking
So I really hope I can help you guys
The first piece of advice always remember strumming is about timing
It's not about patterns as soon as you start thinking down down up down up up down up
Your mind starts thinking.
Okay, I should have went up there and I went down
You're you're kind of behind the eight ball before you even get started
So I'll give you a few exercises to work on another great piece of advice is picture your right hand
Like the drum like holding the drumstick
Because again, it's about that timing _ _ _ _ _
So what I want to do the first exercise is play no chord
Just going to hold hold your guitar and grip it right here with your strumming with your right hand
_ _ _ Start out just down strums and keep in a steady rhythm
_ _ _ 1 2 [Ab] 3 4 1 2 3 [Bb] 4
That's what you want going on your head the whole time a four beat count
[N] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ So here's your first exercise [G] the second exercise work on throwing in an up strum
1 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ 2 3 [N] 4 up _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ and then the next thing you want to do is
Again, playing no chords just gripping the guitar
When you're going to go up move your hands somewhere else on the guitar that let's get you focus on this timing and changing _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ Because again, you want to focus on that timing your right hand is like the drum.
It's not about a pattern.
So _
[Am] _ _ _ _ _ _ [Bb] _ _
[Ab] _ _ _ Do different exercises _
_ [E] _ [Ab] Practice different strumming
[Eb] Patterns, there's your word with your right hand
[Am] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [Bb] Impact and practice different timing.
So speed it up slow it down different things
[Eb] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [B] _ _
_ [A] _ _ _ [G] _ _ [Am] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[G] _ _ [Ab] And another exercise I highly recommend is work on strumming and adding a string with each strum
So for example play say a D chord and let's play it the way I play
Instead [D] of your well, let's go.
Let's play the standard D chord
Okay, play your D chord and leave [G] it locked with your left hand
[D] _ _ _ _ _ _
Play just the bottom string and [Ab] each time after you do a four beat count add another string.
So start [Gbm] just the bottom string
_ [D] _ _
then two
_ _ and three _ four
_ _ _ _ five six
_ back to five _ _
_ four
_ three _ _
two
_ one _ _ _
_ This is a great exercise even working on maybe doing [Gb] a different rhythm
like a short almost like a palm mute with just
_ With putting your outside of your hand on the strings
_ _ [D] two
_ _ three
_ four
_ _ five _
six
_ _ five _
four
_ _ _ three _ two
_ one _ _ _ _
Often on a lot of my songs what I will do
[G] When I'm in the middle of strumming I [C] _ _ _ [Bm] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [G] _
will play
For example on a G chord you play all six strings
But after I play that first chord I might just strum the [C] bottom three or four and this [Gm] allows me to
Keep a steady strum going and so I'm ready and in the right [Bm] position to do that next chord change
Because what [G] I see a lot of beginners do they're up here doing this real big strum and then when it's time to go [D] to a D
They're [D] maybe way down here and they can't get to it fast enough
So in their head, they know that timing change is ready to happen
But their body their motion is too far away from the guitar to be _ _
_ [G] You got there ready to strum again.
So work on that exercise
_ _ _ [C] _ [Em] Strum all the strings that are appropriate say for [C] a C chord
That way or that way either way you want to play it for a C
_ Play all five on your first then just kind of play the bottom ones _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [A] _ _ So [C] for example on a [D] four beat count on your the one the root [G] the first one you're gonna play all the appropriate strings
afterwards until the chord change
Play just a few strings _ _ _ _
[D] _ _ _ _ _ _ [G] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [C] _ _ _
_ [G] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [D] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [D] _
_ _ [G] _ And the last piece [N] of advice I give you that I tell people all the time when I'm first trying to figure out a song
I've got a song I heard the radio heard in church wherever that you're trying to figure out
Start out just do it down choppy strums while you're [E] figuring out
Because _ _ [Bm] _ _ [Dbm] _ _ [E] _ _
_ I'm [B] not focused as much on the timing I want to hear the chords where the chords are [E] at and
So I'm just trying to figure it out doing small
_ choppy
[Cm] _ _ [Abm] Just palm muting strums [E] kind of a little bit quieter.
_ _ [Gb] _
I always say to my to my wife
She doesn't want to hear [Bb] me messing up when I'm trying to figure out a song [Gb] anyway, so I'm playing a little quieter _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [E] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ Hope this helps you guys subscribe.
You haven't shoot me [Ab] mess with any questions
Hope you get the strumming stuff figured out and remember my favorite Bible verse John 10 10 for Christ came to me have life
Have it more abundantly.
Hope you guys have a great day.
God bless