Is the tempo shown (and played) for chocolate jesus wrong in the app? It shows as 69 bpm but the intro beats and the song itself go much quicker than that - double speed I think. It seems you can only do 69bpm by playing every second beat, which seems about right when compared to my metronome app.
Instead of thinking 1 2 3 4, think 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and; further down the road you can get to 1 and a 2 and a and so on, then 1 e and a 2 e and a and so on.
It’s just using shorter notes in the bar!
@DarrellW sorry I don’t understand what you mean. If I compare it to Fallin’ by Alicia Keys, which is also in the app, that has a BPM of 64, and the CJ intro beats go way quicker than that.
It means that the Chocolate Jesus is played in double time, i.e. like 138bpm
In double time you have 1 and 2 and…… the beats are on the numbers and the off beats are in between.
The beat doesn’t have to be every time you play a note or chord, it allows for syncopation and rhythm differences. So instead of just playing all 4 strums down you can add an up strum to add interest.
1 Like
Murray, try plucking the root note of the chord on one and strum the chord on the and. So, for the first chord pluck the open A on the 1 and strum the Am on the +. For the Dm pluck the open D on 1 and strum the chord on the +. And so no for the rest. Practice it slow until you develop a syncopated rhythm. It is a fun tune to play and once you get going you can add embellishments where it suits you.
When I was first learning this song I kept the app volume low because, like you, I did not care for the backing track that much.
@DarrellW @ChasetheDream
I think I follow what you mean but that’s way beyond my current level.
Interestingly the song book has 102 bpm.
@ChasetheDream Robert thanks for that. Just like @MAT1953 that’s way above my abilities at present but I’ll take note for future reference.
@MAT1953 @myall_blues
It may seem like a stretch for you now but will be very doable soon enough. Play one strum per bar, increase to two down strums per bar after the one strum timing is solid, then go to four down strums. When you are hitting the down strum on each beat work on replacing the one and three with the pluck. Take your time and you will get there.
2 Likes