Week 10 of 27
Goal: You play the strum pattern down, down-up, up-down-up and use it to accompany songs.
Review
Last week: A, D and E7. Play Alle meine Entchen in A with down-up.
Step by step
- The pattern goes: down, down, up, up, down, up. Between the two “ups” your hand swings down without touching the strings.
- Counted: “1 – 2 and – and 4 and”. Beat 3 is the gap. Your hand keeps swinging evenly anyway.
- In the rhythm tool choose “Down, down, up, up, down, up” and play along slowly, first just on A.
- The metronome is your best friend: slow and steady beats fast and wobbly. More in Practising with a metronome.
Time to make music: your piece
Michael, Row the Boat Ashore in A with the island strum – A, D and E7. Once it flows: Swing Low, Sweet Chariot in A.
Practise rhythm Pattern: Down, down, up, up, down, up
Homework for next time
Five days, about ten minutes each:
- Tune first every day.
- Days 1–2: the pattern without a chord, strings lightly muted.
- Day 3: the pattern on A, then on D, with the metronome.
- Days 4–5: Michael, Row the Boat Ashore in A.
- Fun: say the pattern as a silly rhyme while you play!
Done when …
- you play the pattern four times in a row evenly
- you accompany a song with it
If you get stuck
- Getting lost after the gap? Say it out loud: “down, down-up, – up-down-up”. In the gap your hand just swings through.
- Too hard with chord changes? In the song, play only downstrokes first and use the pattern only where a chord lasts a long time.
For teachers: lesson plan
- ≈ 10 min Warm-up: clap and pat the pattern – down = pat your knees, up = clap.
- ≈ 15 min Practice: everyone plays the pattern on muted strings while the teacher sets the tempo with the metronome.
- ≈ 20 min Together: Michael, Row the Boat Ashore – one group plays the pattern, one only downstrokes, everyone sings the chorus.
Differentiation: those who are confident play the piece with down-up or help a partner; those who need more time strum only on beat one of each bar.
For the board: openstring.de/gitarre/en/lesson/10/