Strumming
Strumming a guitar is an essential technique to get a good rhythm going. This lesson teaches you how to strum in an unusual way. A kind of cross between using a pick and using your fingers – you use your nail on the first finger like a pick on the down stroke and then the soft pad of your finger for the upstroke. This gives a sharper down with a subtle up. A few tweaks and you can really control the sound of your guitar. A fair warning that this won’t suit everyone but give it a try and see how you go. A pick does make thing easier but I find you can’t switch between a pick and finger style playing any other way. The lesson pairs nicely with any of the other rhythm lessons based on chords. Have a look at https://7minutemusic.com/rhythm/level-1/open-a-minor-chord/, https://7minutemusic.com/rhythm/level-1/open-e-minor-chord/, and https://7minutemusic.com/rhythm/level-2/dm-chord/ for a few chords to put together with this.
Backing Track – A minor to E minor
Use your nails for the down stroke
Use the softer finger pad for the up stroke
Change strumming to highlight feature notes such as the 3rd
Level 2 Progress
Strum Em chord with a downstroke 10 times
Strum Am chord with a downstroke then an upstroke 5 times
Play Am chord with a down, up, down, down rhythm followed by Em chord down, down, up.
Strum the Dm chord up, up, down; Am down, up; Em down, up, down; Em down, up, down.
Play chord then change to Em chord