I was just watching a lesson I am in the process of learning and when you get to the end you often get a choice of other lessons so occasionally I just pick one at random really to see what strumming patterns are suggested . This time it was The Travelling Wilburys - End of the Line. One of the patterns is Old Faithful and Justin suggests how to do this when the is a chord change in the middle of the bar, see below and about 8.50 in the video. Another lesson to the one above where he deals with it, change to all down strums.
Hi @Zen1th, this question has been posed and answered several times in the past. If you use the search function, you can find the different threads. There’s already an example cited above. Another one is this, towards the bottom:
If you don’t find your answer there, feel free to ask again of course!
Yeah it’s hard at first, takes a while before you can maintain a strumming pattern and change chords in the middle of it. If you have to think about the chord change (this finger goes there etc) or have to think about the strumming pattern at all then you probably won’t be able to do it - yet.
Tim… In that case it will help to slow the song down. So much until it feels comfortable for you. It does not have to sound anything like the original song at that stage really…
Say you have a one bar with A and E. Slow it down. Start as simple as possible. Four downstrums. Two downstrums for A , two for E
Or if you are coming from strumming once per bar, you can do the same with beat 1 and 3. Strum A on the one and E on the 3. For example. Once this feels comfortable, you can increase the speed.
Tim, this is normal - everyone goes through this phase. As Nicole said, the key is to slow things down to a tempo you can keep up with. Then gradually speeding up will learn you to keep up, all the while making sure your playing is clean (well, a ‘ding’ here or there is no drama ). You will see that you will get the hang of it quite quickly and in a couple of days you’ll be miles further in this aspect then you are now. It just takes a bit of time, you’ll get there!
Hi Tim @Zen1th,
As others have said, this is an almost universal challenge for beginners. I face this each time I learn a new chord and try to play it in a song. I’m curious, are you following Justin’s lessons from the beginning? If yes, you can stop reading now.
The lessons in Grade 1 Module 1 begin to address these issues, and Justin continues to address them throughout the lessons in Grade 1. (An exercise you’ll use throughout your guitar career is One Minute Changes. But be sure to do all the lessons, even if you feel you know the material!) Justin does a fabulous job of breaking things down into small pieces…work through that bit and you’ll get a new challenge soon enough. The biggest challenges for me were - still are - slowing down and learning to be patient. In my experience, Google is a good source for isolated information, but not to learn how to advance, using good technique, as a guitarist.
I follow Justin’s module or lesson on strumming, but when it comes to put it into practice with the songs he provided I fail miserably.
There are modules showing strumming, and modules showing songs.
Shame there aren’t any modules showing the strums being used with songs.
Know what I mean?
Patience, grasshopper, it’s coming. I think the app lessons are organized the same as the lessons on the website…if you haven’t gotten there yet you might take a peek at Grade 1 Module 4, especially the lesson on THE Strumming Pattern.
I do understand what you mean. I have used the app for some time (though I don’t use it anymore) and I know it can be confusing in the beginning. For me at least it was at times because I concentrated much more on the screen and the chord changes displayed there than that I listened to the music.
The app suggests strumming patterns for some songs, but they can be challenging at the start of Grade 1. May I ask what module you are in? Has “Old Faithful” been introduced already?
Justin often goes over the strumming pattern for his song lessons. Listen for that next one you try out.
Also, modules are generally technique lessons and songs are just song lessons (not modules). If you call a song lesson a module, you may create confusion. There are certainly song lessons associated with modules, but they are, to the best of my memory, their own lesson, not part of the module itself.
I’m pretty sure what he means is the song practice at the end of each practice routine as provided by Justin. What he’s struggling with is combining everything learned in the different practice items (chord changes, strumming pattern, rhythm) in that song practice.
Hey Tim, don’t be too hard on yourself. You’re only starting out on this. Upto now, you’ve only been strumming on beat 1 during the song practice. Stepping up to 2 and later 4 strums per bar demands some practice. I do understand it seems overwhelming now, but just take it one step at a time, take it slowly, and you’ll see you’ll get it a lot quicker then you think possible now. And be proud of every step forward: it’s an achievement, no matter how small it may seem. You’ll nail this!
Thanks @LadyOfTheCastle. Sometimes making sure stuff is clear is the biggest part of using these forums!
Tim,
I’m pretty sure we all are struggling with our own portion! Practice very slowly and it will take less time for your mind to properly direct your hands. You will see this message all through the lessons, but I don’t think it is strong enough early on.
). You will see that you will get the hang of it quite quickly and in a couple of days you’ll be miles further in this aspect then you are now. It just takes a bit of time, you’ll get there!
I think the app lessons are organized the same as the lessons on the website…if you haven’t gotten there yet you might take a peek at Grade 1 Module 4, especially the lesson on 
Practice very slowly and it will take less time for your mind to properly direct your hands. You will see this message all through the lessons, but I don’t think it is strong enough early on.