The way you pictured the F major chord in your question is an acceptable way for a beginner to play that chord. Be sure to avoid the low E string on the down strum when playing the version of the C major and F major you pictured. The down strum is where you can emphasize the bass notes in the chord. The up strum is as much about maintaining the rhythm as it is establishing the harmony by hitting all the notes in each chord. On the up strums, only worry about brushing the three or four thinnest strings (closest to the ground). Also, keep your wrist loose and flexible and strum more with your wrist than your forearm. You might find strumming easier in the beginning with a very light pick.
So by the time you have made it through two rhythm patterns, you have played all four chords in the progression and you start over again.Īs far as your up strums sounding "loud and noisy" - keep in mind that it takes a great deal of practice (sometimes at a very slow tempo) to get your strumming to become fluid and smooth. The rest of the pattern is on the F chord and then the pattern starts again on the C major chord and changes to G after the first upstrum in the pattern. He hits the Am quickly on a quick Up strum at the first upstrum in the pattern - followed immediately by the F chord on the next Down strum.
So to answer your second question - he plays Am for Down Down then on the next UP strum he is preparing to change to the F chord in his mind. The third down strum in the pattern is on the second chord. The chord transition begins right after the first upstrum in the pattern. While you are playing that rhythm pattern, you change chords (very quickly I might add). What he means is that there is a chord change in the middle of each rhythm pattern. You might want to try a song with a more basic pattern, but I will explain what is being described in this lesson and give you some tips on the up strum.ġ) He said onward, "each one rhythm pattern takes up 2 of the chords, what do he mean by that? If it's 2, why is there "UDD"(Up-strum, Down-strum, Down-strum)? And the song you are trying to learn actually has a very challenging strumming pattern for a beginner. One of the most challenging things to learn for many beginners after mastering the basic chords and changing between them, is strumming patterns (rhythm). It is a difficult instrument to learn in the beginning but it gets easier as you develop some basic skills and start learning the basic chords and strum patterns. Congratulations on your decision to learn to play the guitar.