Tune up

Guitarists often focus so much on left-hand fingerings that they forget how important the right hand is. You can play the fanciest stuff in the world with your left hand, but if it doesn't groove, it's not going to sound as good as the simplest rhythm track played well. And one of the most important parts of laying down a solid groove is getting comfortable playing with syncopation, the funky sound you get when you squeeze notes in between the beats.

Let's start off by playing some plain vanilla rhythms that don't involve syncopation. Play through Example 1, making sure to use downstrokes on all of the beats.

Example 1

Example 1, played slowly

If it sounds boring, then you're doing just fine! Now try strumming through the eighth-note rhythm in Example 2. This time, alternate between downstrokes and upstrokes. Count the beats aloud as you play them, and repeat this measure a few times until your right hand gets into a groove. There are four beats in these measures (counted one two three four), and the notes between each beat are counted as and, so the full measure goes one-and two-and three-and four-and.

Example 2

Example 2, played slowly

To start syncopating that rhythm, go to Example 3 and play through the measure like you did in Example 2, this time leaving out the downstroke on beat two. The important thing here is not to let the syncopations alter the groove. Your right hand should keep a steady tempo and feel, even though you're not playing a steady stream of eighth notes. How do you do that? If you stop to think about which way your pick is moving, you've probably already lost the groove. Or, if you pause after that first upstroke–waiting for the right moment to strum up again–you're going to have a hard time keeping the groove steady. The easiest way to get it going is to keep your right hand moving constantly up and down. Start by strumming in the air above the strings and then connect with the guitar strings on the down- or upstrokes you want to hear, while keeping the rhythm going in the air in between.

So in Example 3, you play a silent downstroke on beat two and strum the strings on all the other notes in the measure. Keep repeating this measure until you get the hang of it. Some people call this pendulum strumming, because your arm is moving constantly up and down like a pendulum.

Example 3

Example 3, played slowly

Example 4 goes a step further, subtracting the downstrokes on beats two, three, and four. The trickiest part of this measure is when you go back to the beginning. Notice that the final upstroke in the measure is immediately followed by the only downstroke. Play through this one for a while until you're comfortable with it. Again, try counting along, remembering that you'll be strumming when you say one and every time you say and.

Example 4

Example 4, played slowly