JFRocks UNplugged Acoustic Guitar Lesson

Big Fat Strummy Dummy

Written by: Jeff Fiorentino

These lessons are structured much the same way I do things on the main site JFRocks.com. These lessons will cover various aspects of acoustic guitar and things to practice. Mostly dealing with steel 6 string acoustic as that's what I play. However, some lessons will deal with Nylon string acoustic guitar as well. Either way the lessons covered here are interchangeable between the two guitar string types. Although I recommend learning and practicing on Steel string acoustic. This is because its more difficult to play and you will improve your electric playing immensely because you will build finger strength. Also acoustic is less forgiving than electric. Mistakes can and will be heard and are not covered up by effects or heavy reverb. Updates to this page will be as often as I can. I'm only human and while I have help with JFRocks.com, I'm on my own with this off shoot. LOL I will strive for an average update of 1 per week. To be alerted of updates to this site or the main site, please sign up for our alerts on the main website. You will receive an email when updates to either site have been made.

Lesson Title

Big Fat Strummy Dummy (a look at random strumming)

CD Category

Expands on Acoustic Guitar 101 CD ROM topics

Jeff's Guitar's tuning

Standard E, A, D, G, B, E

Key of

Dm or D

Lesson Features

The song track

The Jam along track

The Video Guitar Lesson

Lesson MP3 song track

N/A

Tabs & Lesson

Original score by: Jeff Fiorentino

Transcription by: Jeff Fiorentino

INTERNET EXPLORER IS THE SUGGESTED BROWSER TO VIEW THIS PAGE PROPERLY.

Fonts may look weird, or not line up properly in Firefox or some other browsers if you have not set them up correctly

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This Lesson's difficulty level 1-10 scale

Performance notes

This is Lesson is about Random strumming patterns. Sort of in the vein of Pete Townsend I guess but really everyone has a way they attack the guitar when they feel like banging out some "Strummy Dummy" chords.

This Lesson is sort of a two fold thing. I go touch on the mechanics of how to efficiently do these random and sometimes rather fast strumming patterns but we also don't just use the usual G, C, D type chords in the open position. We use those as sort of our Root notes but the actual chords we use are much bigger sounding with lots of open strings to ring out. We also incorporate Suspended 4th chords which as Mr. Townsend has shown us on many a Who song are very good at building tension and when dropped to a Major Chord releasing that tension. Which can make for some cool riffing. Not that any of that tension and release from Suspended 4th to Major was ever lost on V. Hhttp://jfrocks4.com or Joe Walsh or any of the other guitar greats that use that pattern.

The video is helpful for seeing the exercise performed and I give some useful (or at least I hope useful anyway) tips on there based on my own experience being a Strummy Dummy.

______________________________________________________________________________

Main Lesson

One of the key elements to this type of playing is to first off not tense up. Secondly, as I say on the video you need to approach the guitar like it's a drum set. This kind of playing is actually how I write the drum parts to all the Vin Heuton and other mp3 files you hear on the site. I basically bang them out on acoustic guitar and then just program what I did into the drum machine.

I give some tips on the video as far as the mechanics of strumming and what muscles you should use. Basically if you're shoulder hurts you're doing it wrong. It's all forearm and a slightly loose wrist.

Below are the chords I used in the lesson exercise mapped out for you so you know what they are. If you don't know some of these chords this is a good chance for you to learn them and get to use them and see how they sound.

Dsus4 D C add9 G/B Asus4 A Dm/F Gsus2 G/D

E_3___2____0<optional note______________________ ___________ 7_____
B_3___3____3___________3_____3_____2_________________ 8_____
G_2___2____0___________0_____2_____2______2_____2____ 7_____
D_0___0____x___________0_____2_____2______0_____0____ 0_____
A__________3___________2_____0_____0______x_____x_______ ___
E_________________________________________1_____3________ __

______________________________________________________________________

Strumming symbol Legend:

^ = Up stroke

> = Down stroke

Remember the instructions I gave on the Video lesson. You need to vary the amount of force you strum with in order to create accents. Those accents are what give the strumming pattern its feel or phrasing. Practice light hits and hard hits and then try mixing them together into a pattern.

A 95% approximation of what I played on the video lesson is tabbed below with slight simplification on strumming pattern for ease of reading. What's tabbed below will give you the right feel. Embellishment is totally up to you and is strongly encouraged but practice it slow at first especially if you're not used to strumming patterns.

The symbols above the chord indicate whether you should up stroke the chord or down stroke the chord. You don't have to worry about singling out notes like with picking patterns, you just need to play the guitar like a drum set. I have tabbed all the notes strummed in each chord but only tabbed each chord one time. Each time there is a chord change I tabbed a new chord. Should be pretty easy to follow my tab but take it one line at a time and try to conform to the pattern before you go off in your own direction with it. Just a tip, odds are most of you will just barrel off in your own direction anyway.

**Tip** If you're a beginner you don't have to play the whole exercise. Just do the first one or two chords and practice the strumming pattern, Blue is down stroke, Yellow is Up stroke. Practice it slow and move onto other chord sections of the exercise when you get comfortable with the first chord or two.

_________________________________________________________________________

Lesson Exercise

Intro

> > ^ ^ > > ^ ^ > > ^

E_3_________________________________________
B_3_________________________________________
G_2_________________________________________
D_0_________________________________________
A___________________________________________
E___________________________________________

> > ^ ^ > > ^ ^ > > ^

E_2_________________________________________
B_3_________________________________________
G_2_________________________________________
D_0_________________________________________
A___________________________________________
E___________________________________________

> > ^ ^ > > ^ ^ > > ^

E___________________________________________
B_3_________________________________________
G_0_________________________________________
D_x_________________________________________
A_3_________________________________________
E___________________________________________

> > ^ ^ > > ^ ^ > > ^

E___________________________________________
B_3_________________________________________
G_0_________________________________________
D_0_________________________________________
A_2_________________________________________
E___________________________________________

> > ^ ^ > > ^ ^ > > ^

E___________________________________________
B_3_________________________________________
G_0_________________________________________
D_x_________________________________________
A_2_________________________________________
E___________________________________________

Now on these Asus4 to A Major chord hits that end the intro portion of this exercise, I've tabbed out basically the same strumming pattern as we've been doing throughout this intro. However, you can embellish on it to feel. Sometimes when you hit that Suspended 4th chord your brain can get some ideas, if that happens to you feel free to embellish as I did on the video, if not, then just continue on with the strumming pattern we've been doing for this intro.

> > ^ ^ > > ^ ^ > > ^

E___________________________________________
B_3_________________________________________
G_2_________________________________________
D_2_________________________________________
A_0_________________________________________
E___________________________________________

> > ^ ^ > > ^ ^ > > ^

> > ^ ^ > > ^ ^ > > ^ >

E___________________________________________
B_2_________________________________________
G_2_________________________________________
D_2_________________________________________
A_0_________________________________________
E___________________________________________

Secondary riffing

> ^ >

> ^ > >

E__________________________________________
B_3________________________________________
G_0________________________________________
D_x________________________________________
A_3________________________________________
E__________________________________________

> ^ >

E__________________________________________
B_3________________________________________
G_0________________________________________
D_0________________________________________
A_2________________________________________
E__________________________________________

> ^ >

E__________________________________________
B_3________________________________________
G_0________________________________________
D_x________________________________________
A_3__________2-0___________________________
E________________3~________________________

And it repeats 2 more times then it goes into the section below.

This next section is done with light hits. Turn the pick to the side as I describe on the video for the light strumming. It's a mellow strumming pattern. Be very loose with it.

^ ^ > ^ > > ^ ^ > ^ ^ > ^ > > ^ ^

E__________________________________________________
B__________________________________________________
G____________ 2____________________________________
D____________ 0____________________________________
A_2-0_________x____________________________________
E_____3--_ 1___1____________________________________

^ ^ > ^ > > ^ ^ > ^ ^ > ^ > > ^ ^

E__________________________________________________
B__________________________________________________
G_______2__________________________________________
D_______0__________________________________________
A_______x__________________________________________
E_1--_3__3__________________________________________

^ ^ > ^ > > ^ ^ > ^ ^ > ^ > > ^ ^

^ ^ > ^ > > ^ ^ > ^ ^ > ^ > > >

E_________________________________________________________
B___________________________________________________ 3_____
G_______2__________________________________________ _2_____
D_______0__________________________________2-0_______0_____
A_______x______________________________________3-0_________
E_1--_3__3_________________________________________________

> > ^ ^ > > ^ > > > ^

E_7_________________________________________
B_8_________________________________________
G_7_________________________________________
D_0_________________________________________
A___________________________________________
E___________________________________________

> > ^ ^ > > ^ > > > ^ >

E_2____________________________2_____________
B_3____________________________3_____________
G_2____________________________2_____________
D_0____________________________0_____________
A____________________________________________
E____________________________________________

Exercise repeats around again mixing the secondary riffing with the intro riffing. The strumming pattern pretty much remains the same.