Summertime Blues by Eddie Cochran Lesson

Song Lessons Grade 3 Songs
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Learn to play Summertime Blues by Eddie Cochran on JustinGuitar!


View the full lesson at Summertime Blues by Eddie Cochran | JustinGuitar

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Hello :slightly_smiling_face:
no comments on this lesson before, so it seems I’m the only one with a problem here.
My (electric) guitar and I are struggling to get the muted downstrum on the first beat right (explained around 1:30).
I’ve tried loads of different variations of pressure and strumming, but it still sounds very different from the sharp and clear sound that Justin demonstrates.
With too much pressure on the fretting hand all or some strings ring out (horrible random sound), when touching the strings just lightly, I get a very quiet and muffled “blooop” that is barely audible and sounds like a frog suffering from a bad hiccup.
Does the sound in the video sound different, because Justin uses a mic that amplifies this strum, too?
Any tips how I can get rid of the frog in my guitar are very much appreciated.
Thanks and greetings :grinning:

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hi @Gunhild

I haven’t done this yet, but it is on my list once my arm heals up. Justin looks like he is having too much fun to let this pass by. :slight_smile:

I’m definitely learning the technique! One thing I have noticed is that a recording sounds cleaner than what I hear much of the time. The recording doesn’t have the string noise that makes me think I am dong something really wrong.

Try recording your play and see if that sounds a bit better.

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When doing the first mute and the mutes between the chords you want all fingers resting, relaxed, not pressing the strings and a crisp hit of the strings as you strum.
When muting the chord, you strum it and kill it dead with a right hand palm mute.

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@sequences
Hello Michael :grinning:
Thanks a lot for your kind message and your advice. I’ll surely try it. :+1:
Sorry to read about your arm, wishing you all the best for it.
Yes, it really looks like much fun to play. It is too advanced for me yet, but I just couldn’t resist :wink:
There’s another classic tune like this one: “Old Time Rock 'n Roll”, that uses the same technique. It’s for Grade 1 and a little easier.

Have lots of fun playing, as soon as your arm is fine again :guitar:

Cheers
Gunhild

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@Richard_close2u
Hello Richard :slightly_smiling_face:

Thanks a lot for your kind message and your help. It’s very much appreciated.
I’ve already tried your advice with some mixed results. It’s not easy to relax the left hand and let the strumming hand do a crisp hit at the same time :sweat_smile: Needs a lot of practice …

In addition I tried the palm mute, and that came up with a lot of interesting results (and sounds). This is a nice technique I’ll work on more often, and I have a good feeling that after some trial and error I can get there …

Thanks again for your help!

Greetings
Gunhild :grinning:

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