Many song sheets show only chords and lyrics – but how should you strum? The good news: you don’t have to copy the pattern from a recording exactly. A pattern that fits the song is enough. These steps help you find one.
Step by step
- Find the pulse: listen to the song and tap your foot or clap along. That’s the beat. In the rhythm tool you can press “Tap” several times in time – it then shows you the tempo.
- Count the bar: count “1, 2, 3, 4” along. If it fits, it’s four beats to the bar. If it feels like “1, 2, 3 – 1, 2, 3”, it’s a waltz in three. Beat one is usually where the chord changes. More in Time signatures.
- Hear the accents: if there are drums, you often hear a deep drum on 1 and 3 and a sharp crack on 2 and 4. Accent the same beats with your strumming.
- Quarters or eighths? Listen to the backing: is there one stroke per beat or two (“1 and 2 and”)? Calm songs often work with quarters, lively ones need eighths.
- Start with a basic pattern: take a pattern from Learning strumming patterns and play softly along with the recording. Then leave out single strokes until it feels right – your hand keeps swinging all the time.
Songs without a recording
Folk and children’s songs often have no recording with accompaniment. Then sing or speak the lyrics and notice which syllables are stressed – that’s where the strong beats are. A song in three like Kein schöner Land can be accompanied with “down – down up – down up”: one stroke on beat one and two back-and-forth movements on 2 and 3.
In the app’s song player the backing plays along, so you can hear where the beats are. Just play along and try out different patterns.
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