Active Melody

Learn to play blues guitar.

Learn these 4 Levels to play a Pretty Rhythm / Strum Pattern + a Melody line – Guitar Lesson – ML138

Description

In this week’s guitar lesson, I’ll walk you through 4 levels to playing a pretty rhythm strum pattern that includes a very simple melody line. Plus chord substitutions.

Part 1 - Free Guitar Lesson

Part 2 - For Premium Members

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Slow Walkthrough

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Comments

  2. slopace says

    Yeah Brian, you would think strumming would be so simple and maybe it is for some but this is an awesome help for me. It also helps tremendously explaining what types of alternate chords you can throw in. Great help.

    Thanks Brian!

  4. math07 says

    Thanks, it looks like you read my mind by putting a timer at the beginning of the walkthrough and the soundslice. I like to play with your backing track to practice, but I always miss the beginning because it takes me a few seconds to take my hands off my computer mouse and on my guitar after clicking play.

  6. Mike R says

    Really like learning these rhythm methods. This allows me to get a lot of sound out of simple movements and utilize the CAGED chords also. It also helps me play my James Taylor songs with or without the capo. I can see how these rhythm ideas can help to write songs while fooling around with the various sounds they produce. I would like you to do more of these rhythm ideas and please throw in some walking or connecting bass lines like we hear in some James Taylor’s songs like Carolina In My Mind. Thanks for the additional minor and diminished chords as well. They add a lot of color. Another very useful lesson as always.

  10. Thomas S says

    Hey Brian! I learned very basic guitar in youth group in my church back in the early 1980’s. After learning the basic chords and some self created strumming patterns, I got in a rut.

    I just picked up the guitar a couple of months ago after about a 15 year “sabatical”. Basic lessons like this are a big deal as they are finally expanding my knowledge past what I was trying to figure out just by listening to music. You’re helping me to decode the guitar! 🙂

    I have learned more from you in the past couple of months than the entire time from youth to my 60s and it is making the guitar exciting for me once again! I’m practicing about 2 hours per day and enjoying every minute of it!

    Thank you for the good work you do teaching the guitar!

  11. Shahab E says

    I think having more rhythm lessons will help and it’s something that I haven’t seen you go over much.
    Some other ideas in case: more advanced harmonies as micro lessons (because they get intimidating if they are a full composition), gipsy jazz and jazzier sounds in general.

  12. John I says

    Finding, practicing, and getting familiar with these positional relationships is powerful knowledge. You don’t have to think about the theory, which makes it more intuitive/instinctive to improvise.
    Wonderful Micro lesson. Great stuff!

  13. Georg B says

    Hi Brian,

    This is the perfect lesson for me, and I’m sure for many, many others as well. It’s exactly what so many of us want to be able to do. It looks and sounds so elegant yet simple, and with your guidance, it’s achievable.

    Thank you,

    Georg

  17. JEROME L says

    Hi Brian
    Great lesson here.
    Quite simple to understand but not so easy to do.
    It helps me a lot.
    By the way it gives a beautyful and very cool kind of slow accoustic ballad feeling.
    I hope that one day I can play it just as regular and smooth as you do.
    Thank you very much.
    Have a good week

  19. Wil W says

    Brian thanks.

    Another great lesson. I like this kind of micro lessons, because you can focus on just one thing. Although I have used it a lot of times, I didn’t realized that I was playing the fourth (C-shape) of that chord (G-shape) on the strings 2, 3 and 4. So no thinking of naming a chord just putting the fingers in the right shape (lightbulb moment when you talked about the fourth of the four chord)

    Wil

  20. Lesley O says

    I love this! It’s all to easy to forget the importance of rhythm when concentrating on melody or individual notes. The layers are great – much better than jumping in at the deep end and getting stuck. Sounds great as well…as always.
    Thankyou Brian

  21. Thierry says

    Thank you Brian for another great lesson. As some of us, I started playing in late 70’s using books and (trying) to jam with friends who were pretty much at the same level as me. Dropped the guitar for a few decades (work and family pressures) and seriously back at it with your teaching for the last 4-5 years. Your lesson today is indeed simple and effective to help me correct/improve my rythm technique. It helps me to better frame it and be much more consistent in my playing. I’m viewing this lesson as helping me to kick old habits out with a much more precise / consistent set of instructions.
    Would love to see more of these “old habits kicking out” lessons. Thank you !

  23. Dermot M says

    Great lesson. Yes Brian, I would love to see a few more of these sprinkled into the mix as I’m keen to try and play more acoustic songwriter style songs myself and may even be inspired to try my own composition so these simple – but level shifting – ideas are a great help.

  26. charjo says

    Rhythm ideas are always appreciated. Would love to hear more.
    I find it funny that the 4 of the 4 chord takes you to a chord out of the original key, actually being the bVII (similiarly, adding a sus4 to the IV chord adds a note outside the original key).
    I think the idea is that each chord is being treated as it’s own key to find triad embellishments around it. That seems to be the way it is in rock, treating each of the I, IV and V as it’s own mixolydian key.

  39. Martin K says

    Hi Brian,
    Yes, I would like more of these type lessons. Not only are they are fun to play and sound great, I learn techniques (and in a way, some basic music theory) that can be applied to all styles I enjoy playing.
    Thanks.

  41. Steve says

    Hits the right spot, focusing on this rhytm is a great thing for me to do this week, it looks easy and easily overlooked but its that touch that differentiates guitarists that sound good from noodlers. How would you also apply this to electric guitar, same way? Am going to enjoy working on this, this week!

    • Steve says

      very similar to the bluegrass rhythm i’ve been learning on level 2, but also incorporating alternate bass strings, but just on the whole 6 string shapes of G,C,D. Your approach here is more useful, I need to try and get to level 3 and 4 and bring in the alt bass strings too.

  44. Will L says

    Very happy with this Brian,
    One of those topics i knew about and promised to get around to practising, but never did.
    Well, now i have.
    Ties in nicely with your triad lessons.

    Will,
    Warrington. UK

  48. Jon T says

    As a new player with only 7 months experience, I find many of your lessons too challenging. However, I found this lesson very achievable and worthwhile. Thanks for helping me develop better pick control.

    • Tony P says

      Jon,

      I can imagine trying some of these lessons when I was just starting and getting pretty frustrated. But I can tell you, from my perspective, after playing a while I got stuck on following a lot of the basics and then they just fizzle out. They never seemed to connect in a cohesive way “to play guitar” instead of learning to “play a song”. Brians content has taken all of those fizzled out paths and connected them.

      So, for years, I knew there was more but didn’t know where I was headed. I wish I had both the basics to get my fingers used to a guitar and these lessons to show me how it all comes together. I spent many years (and 5 different in-person people teaching lessons who didn’t know how to teach) just KNOWING there was a way for it to work and looking for the person that could get me there.

      It turns out, I am dangerously close to being able to pick it up and just “playing guitar”.

      Hang in there.

      Tony

      • Jon T says

        Tony

        Although I’ve had difficulty playing many of Brian’s compositions, I’ve learned heaps of theory from watching his videos. Hopefully, my fingers will catch up soon!

        Thanks for the encouragement and good luck with your playing.

        Jon

    • Michael Krailo says

      Jon, you are definitely in the right place if you are that early on in your journey. I’ll put in a friend request and you can ask questions anytime you like. I’m glad Brian put one up for you that is more geared towards your level as a lot of lessons are geared for intermediate players. You will definitely want to get all the basic chord stuff down such that you can move from one chord to the next smoothly. I remember what it was like watch other guitar players who had 4 or 5 years of study already and they were really good at that point. As long as you stick with mastering the basics and not worry too much about speed, just learn to play solid rhythm parts well at your own pace and then you can start to expand on that with more of the lead type of lessons. Nothing wrong with practicing scales either, that skill will be used a lot later on down the road. I’m curious where you are really at now. Are you participating in the monthly challenges? It doesn’t matter if you think your not good enough, recording now will give you something to look back on and see your progress.

  51. Tony P says

    Brian,

    For clarification (to make sure I’m reading things right) somewhere in the 6 to 6:30 point, when you are talking about emphasizing “the three”. It seems to be the 3rd strum (and the 7th) and not “the three” of the bar. Which would make it “the two” and “the four” of the bar. Did I get that right?

    In the lesson, the tab seems to show the embellishments on the and of 2 and the and of 4 but, when you’re playing (and when I look at the separate lesson tab sheet), there are a couple more thrown in which really sound sweet. Is there any sort of pattern you have in mind when you’re doing that? I didn’t pick it up after a couple tries. It seems like I ought to be able to do this in “stream of consciousness” mode (improvising) rather than memorizing. That’s why I’m asking about what pattern you had in mind, if any.

    Thanks for the clarification.

    Tony

    • Michael Krailo says

      Sadly, the way Brian counted the strumming pattern was very unorthodox IMO. Normally that would be counted 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & with the accents on beats 2 and 4. The way he counted it was in 8/8 time which places the accents on beats 3 and 7 which is weird. I would count it in 4/4 time using the beats 2 and 4 and of course, once you get used to the feel of it, no counting is needed. It is a very simple rhythm. So the bass notes are not being accented, it’s the place where a drummer would place the snare hits.

      The embellishments all come in on the off beats. That’s something you have to get used to. It’s a feeling of off beat up strokes that create the melody.

  52. David M says

    Brain
    Simple but sweet. Been playing a while but still found this useful. Been starting to look at chord substitutions and your “4th of the 4th” was cool, and the IV minor in place of V was interesting. Have played these progressions in many songs but this brought a nice structure I can apply in improv. Loved the “Keith Richards: lick.
    Dave

  53. Ray A says

    Thanks, this is something I’ve always wanted to really get and never have. Today’s fun and tomorrow’s!

    At the end of Level 2 when you started talking, I think you started channelling your inner Arlo Guthrie. I was expecting you to launch into a tale about 8 by 10 glossy photos 🙂

  55. Frederick G says

    This opens up a whole new avenue for me. I’ve been playing some of those D variations for a while but I didn’t quite know what to do with them. It’s time to grab my Martin and get working on those. Thanks for the great ideas;

  59. Gina R says

    Hi Brian,
    I love doing stuff like this when I’m just improvising or noodling around. I use the five of five trick and now the four of four and using the minor four chord.
    It would be great if you did a lesson employing all those great tricks into a song
    Thanks a bunch

  63. Paul B says

    I am benefiting from lessons like this and look forward to more. The barre chords always intimidate me and with some arthritis in the mix, they’re super tough to pull off. The partial barre’s to make chords on the top side make them easier. This particular lesson has opened a pathway through the fretboard for me. It seems to click. Rhythm playing and adding a melody particularly stuck with me in this lesson. I was always bored with rhythm until now.

  66. jaystrings2@aol.com says

    What a great lesson, Brian. Especially the part for premium members. Made me want to go get my acoustic out of its case and show it some love. I like how some of your lessons lead me back to my first love – an acoustic – and out of the cowboy chords. Thanks for this.

  68. Tony J says

    Great lesson Brian as usual. More like this please. Every lesson you post inspires and makes me want to improve myself. I’m so happy to have found you while skipping around YouTube a few years ago. Nobody does it better. Active Melody rocks.

  70. Garry H says

    I was working on your tabs and got frustrated. I’ve heard you say in the past that if you can’t do it, work around it. I put my guitar down disgusted, waited and then started again and just got totally lost in the strum pattern, the SUS chord changes, and embellishments. Never thought I could really improvise… I guess that what you would call it, this is the closest I have ever come. Trouble is I can’t remember what I did. I am humbly pleased with my progress enough this week to record myself. I don’t think I have played the same chords and licks twice in a row but I am liking the sound coming from my fingers and my guitar. Don’t mean to brag but thanks for this one Brian, it has opened a new sound for me! I dig it…

  71. Guy H says

    Put a few simple chords together, get the strum pattern down so the timing has no breaks and the music is beautiful. This lesson and commentary shows how significant is to play with no timing breaks, my family audience can certainly tell when I play something that flows ( with perfect timing). I’ve always been amazed at your (Brian) perfect timing no matter what you play, I think that is why whatever you play always sounds so good, no matter the difficulty your timing is always perfect! I’ve always wondered how to get my riffs and licks to time into the rhythm, I’m thinking it’s not following all the complicated timing codes in the music notation; instant timing break! I’ve got to believe to make the licks and riffs flow you’ve (I’ve) got to get the musics’ groove and naturally get the solos to flow into & with the rhythm. I’m aware that my ability to do this is in the beginner novice range, sometimes it flows; if I have to think too much – instant timing break. If I’m all wet on the importance of timing , let me know; if playing solos and fills consistent with the music’s rhythm groove is the key ( ie timing) can you please focus on how you learned to do it so well? My family audience will dig it!

  73. Don says

    I’m looking forward to learning this strumming technique. Normally I don’t strum, I pick, but this lesson sounded so pretty, I think it’s a skill I need to add.

  82. Roy N says

    Great lesson Brian.
    Seems so simple but Ive been making a noise on a guitar for years but still found this damned difficult.
    I shall stay on this lesson till Ive beaten it!!!

  83. Paul A says

    Great example of the “less is more” concept Brian. I find myself bogged down sometimes in the details of some of the lessons. This one was very helpful very quickly. Thank you!

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