In the Part One of this lesson we looked at ways to vary
bass notes to make the typical bass-note brush accompaniment
pattern more interesting. Now let’s develop that idea even
further by learning to use extra bass notes that are not part
of the actual chord shapes. With more notes to choose from,
we can make our accompaniment patterns that much more varied
and interesting.
Remember that the most important thing about strumming is
to keep the rhythmic gesture steady. The goal is to fit your
fretting hand to your strumming hand, not vice versa. Reading
music or tablature can run counter to this goal, so try to
get away from visual dependence as fast as you can. Always
play a complete chord shape. I’ve represented the chord brush
with three (sometimes two) written notes, but it’s OK if your
brush is two, three, or four notes. Just keep the beat going.
HAMMERING ON
You’re probably already familiar with the technique of hammering
on a basic chord shape: plucking an open bass string and
then quickly bringing down a fretting finger to produce the
chord tone—conventionally on the second of two alternating
bass notes. Keep the rest of your fingers needed for the chord
shape in place.
Example 1 demonstrates the hammered notes on a C chord (from
open D on the fourth string to an E at the second fret), an
F chord (from open G on the third string to an A at the second
fret), and a G chord (from open A on the fifth string to a
B at the second fret). This teaches us that these open strings
can sound good when we hear them in conjunction with their
associated chords. If hammering is new to you, try it on different
strings in a variety of chords to get a feel for it.
Tune
Up
