Accompaniment, Strumming

When you are strumming, you are part of the rythm section so play in time. Try to lock in with the drummer and the bass player, and don't overplay! I am overplaying on most of the recordings in this section because there are no other instruments to back up the strumming. When you are playing with a band, relax a little and go for quality over quantity. Consider using a thin pick, even if you normally use a heavy pick. It produces a soft, pleasant sound, even when the sweeping motion is not entirely clean.

Below is a list of some performance requirements for strumming.

The examples in this section are extracts from pop songs that most people should be familiar with. They are provided with chord diagrams and tablature (png, pdf, gp5, and gp6), audio (mp3), and video (streaming and mp4). The format gp5 is read by the free programs TefView and Tux Guitar, and gp6 is read by the commercial package Guitar Pro 6. My audio recordings are very basic, with the melody added to the strumming (except for Hey Joe and Sultans of Swing which contain rythm guitar only). The video recordings are even more basic since they include the rythm part only. All examples are played on a 7-string but the chord diagrams also show the fingerings for the 6-string.

Song Title Recorded by Audio Video download Video streaming Tablature
1. Band On The Run Wings mp3 mp4 (14.4 MB) png pdf gp5 gp6
2. Can't Buy Me Love Beatles mp3 mp4 (9.9 MB) png pdf gp5 gp6
3. Groovy Kind Of Love Phil Collins mp3 mp4 (11.8 MB) png pdf gp5 gp6
4. Hey Joe Jimi Hendrix mp3 mp4 (18.1 MB) png pdf gp5 gp6
5. Josephine Chris Rea mp3 mp4 (21.1 MB) png pdf gp5 gp6
6. Notorious Duran Duran mp3 mp4 (19.1 MB) png pdf gp5 gp6
7. S.O.S. Abba mp3 mp4 (18.8 MB) png pdf gp5 gp6
8. Sultans Of Swing Dire Straits mp3 mp4 (20.0 MB) png pdf gp5 gp6
9. This Guy's In Love With You Herb Alpert mp3 mp4 (14.5 MB) png pdf gp5 gp6
10. Violet Seal mp3 mp4 (18.5 MB) png pdf gp5 gp6