I bought the beginner song book, but do not understand the notes as some are close together and some are far apart. How do you know the strumming pattern?
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Hi Arne
I pulled my book out to take a look and if you could be more specific it would help.
On page 5, on the introduction page. Yeah I know who reads that stuff. Me niether usually. 
It shows an explanation on how to read the different strumming patterns for each song. They are shown separately from the song and the chords on the next page. It will give you a bunch general info also.
Examples below
As you can see from mine they are decent size. Shows info like up strum and downstrum with count as well as a basic notation to follow. Solid explanations. It will even offer a few levels depending on skill leveles.
Good luck 
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By “notes” do you mean the chords above the song lyrics?
Thanks so much for responding! What I can’t not figure out is the how to strum based on the note spacing. There are no bars and the spacing between notes varies greatly. Example is line one of chorus 1. D cord and then 4 beats of the strumming pattern, then A Cord and the same, but then the next two notes, A and D, and very close together. Do I try to play the stumming pattern faster? Confused as to how the strumming patters works in relation to the note spacing is my issues right now…many issues to follow I am sure:)
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To use this kind of song sheet, you need to know the song and hear it in your mind.
I didn’t know the song, but I just had a listen to it. No guitar in hand, I just tapped my foot along with the beat and looked at this chord sheet while the song played. In this way, I can tell when the chord changes come and I realize that throughout the chorus, each chord is played for 1 bar (4 beats). (Actually, same for the verse, so the whole song is 4 beats of A, followed by 4 beats of D, over and over again.
Anyway, whenever you use a chord sheet like this, I suggest listening to the song while reading the chord sheet, to work out how many bars to play for each chord.
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Thank you…that helps a lot!
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@Arnecb, what @jjw said is correct. Also, I would advise you to read the notes in the book carefully when starting to learn a new song. It will contain a whole lot of information about strumming etc that will help you find your way. For this one e.g., it says in the introduction, on the right page: “it’s just two chords, one bar each, all the way through”.
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It is not the chords that are unevenly spaced or are of different durations. It’s the way the underlying lyrics are written that makes it seem like that.
Both the chord structure and the strumming pattern are fixed and don’t change. The rhythm and tempo of the strumming pattern stays the same throughout the whole song. I hope the schematic below helps.
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Yes, this is a good idea.
Not sure how precise you were trying to be, but the lyric comes in on beat 2 (not beat 1) for the first and second line. There are other small mis-alignments, but perhaps they’re not critical for learning to strum the song.
Yeah this side of the of the song description will only give you the words and the chords. But it will also tell you when the chord hits, not the strumming pattern itself.
So for example in that first line the first note of the 4 beats of the A chord will hit on the top of Happiness. And the the D will hit on the g of again. Dont worry about actually strumming patterns as they can vary. Just as long as you are making the chord change in the correct spot you will be ok. The reason that A chord is haning out there by its self is because they are not singing in between phrases just some strumming. If you listen to that song as im sure you have you can hear it clearly. Under the horns. And then right befor the the vocals its back to D again. This is a great tune.
Its fast, so I would incourage you to do just One strum a bar. Make sure you are kanding on the hit each time tap your foot, metronome, bob your head what ever to keep time. But know your mark each like. And its ok to play whole notes untill you get the feel for it. Then go to quesrter notes and then when comfortable with that the 16th note and then the tricky strumming pattern. Depending on your level you can skip parts of that process.
If I am struggling to figure out a song with my vocals and guitar, where it hits. Thats what I do. Play one strum a bar on the Hit making sure its on spot, so its in my head. Once I get that then I go to the more complex pattern. Build it up like Justin says. I hope this makes sense.
Keep working at it. Cool song too.
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Thanks so much…that make so much more sense to me now. Everyone is so helpful in this chat:) Really appreciate the feedback as I am an adult learner and while this is a lot of fun, it is much more intricate that I thought. I dont know anyone else who plays so this is very helpful. Thanks again:)
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Hello @Arnecb and welcome.
You may not know anyone in person that plays - as you have already found out, all the good people in here are learning and playing and our positive, pay-it-forward ethos means you’re never short of guitar friends to ask for help.
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Thanks Richard, the groups has certainly made me feel welcome!
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Hi Arne. Justin has a lesson video for the song. Have you had a look at it? https://www.justinguitar.com/songs/the-mavericks-dance-the-night-away-chords-tabs-guitar-lesson-bs-120
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