for music training session

1. GUITAR & UKELELE
BASIC CHORDS

2. VISAYAN SINGERS & COMPOSERS

4. HOW DO YOU FEEL SINGING THE SONG
WITHOUT ACCOMPANIMENT?
HOW ABOUT SINGING THE SONG
WITH ACCOMPANIMENT?

5. GUITAR & UKELELE CHORDS

6. UKELELE CHORDS

7. UKULELE FAMILY
CHORDS

8. BEFORE YOU START STRUMMING, GO THROUGH THESE STEPS:
STEP 1: CLAP ALONG WITH THE SONG: IF THE SINGER WAS TO SHOUT, “HEY
EVERYBODY, CLAP ALONG,” WHAT WOULD YOU DO? (ASSUMING YOU’RE
LESS SURLY THAN ME AND WOULD JUST FOLD YOUR ARMS AND LOOK
MOODY.)
STEP 2: PRETEND YOU’RE IN THE RAMONES: IF YOU WERE GOING TO START
THE SONG BY SHOUTING ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
TRY COUNTING THROUGH THE SONG REPEATING THAT ALL THE WAY (IF
COUNTING TO FOUR DOESN’T FIT, TRY COUNTING TO THREE).
STEP 3: TRY A FEW STRUMMING PATTERNS: TRY FITTING A STRUMMING
PATTERN TO THE SONG. FIT THEM SO THE DOWN STRUMS IN THE PATTERN
MATCH WITH THE NUMBERS YOU COUNT. SO A DEAD SIMPLE PATTERN
WOULD BE ALL DOWN STRUMS: STRUM DOWN WHEN YOU COUNT ONE,
WHEN YOU COUNT TWO, WHEN YOU COUNT THREE AND WHEN YOU COUNT
FOUR.

9. BY FAR THE MOST COMMON TIME SIGNATURE
AROUND IS 4/4 (“FOUR FOUR”). IF YOU CAN COUNT
ALONG TO A SONG, “ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR,
ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR,” AND IT FITS, TRY OUT
THESE STRUMMING PATTERNS.
STRUMMING PATTERN 1: D – D U – U D
–
THIS ONE CROPS UP IN SO MANY UKULELE SONGS.
IT’S SIMPLE TO PLAY. BUT – BECAUSE IT MISSES THE
THIRD DOWN STRUM – IT HAS A
SLIGHTLY SYNCOPATED FEEL TO IT WHICH MAKES
IT MORE INTERESTING.

10. STRUMMING PATTERN 2: D – D U – U D U
VERY SIMILAR TO STRUMMING PATTERN 1, BUT
WITH ANOTHER UP STRUM AT THE END.
STRUMMING PATTERN 3: D – D – D U D U
STRUMMING PATTERN 4: D – D U D U D
U
A REALLY STRAIGHT-FORWARD STRUM USEFUL FOR
PUNKY STUFF.
HALF-BAR PATTERNS
IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A STRUMMING PATTERN
FOR A SONG WHERE THE CHORDS CHANGE
REGULARLY (TWICE A BAR) TRY OUT THESE.

11. STRUMMING PATTERN 5: D – D U
STRUMMING PATTERN 6: D U X U
TWO BAR PATTERN
IF THE CHORDS CHANGE MUCH MORE SLOWLY,
YOU COULD JUST DOUBLE UP ON THE 4/4
PATTERN. OR YOU COULD MAKE IT MORE
INTERESTING BY USING A TWO BAR PATTERN.
STRUMMING PATTERN 7: D – D U – U
D U
– U D U –
U D –
HENCEFORTH TO BE KNOWN AS THE ‘SOPHIE
MADELEINE STRUM’.

12. D U
STRUMMING PATTERN 9: D U X U D U
X U
REGGAE STRUMS
WITH A REGGAE STRUM YOU’RE ALWAYS GOING TO
BE ACCENTING THE OFF BEATS. IN THE OTHER
STRUMS HERE YOU’RE ALWAYS PLAYING A STRONG
BEAT ON THE ‘ONE’ OF THE COUNT. HERE YOU’RE
ACCENTING OTHER BEATS.
STRUMMING PATTERN 10: – D – D – D –
D
STRUMMING PATTERN 11: – – D U – – D
–

13. IF COUNTING, “ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR,” DOESN’T
FIT WITH THE SONG YOU’RE PLAYING, TRY
COUNTING IN THREES INSTEAD. IF THAT WORKS,
TRY THESE PATTERNS.
STRUMMING PATTERN 12: D – D U D
–
STRUMMING PATTERN 13: D – D U D
U
CHANGING THE PATTERNS
THERE ARE TWEAKS YOU CAN MAKE TO ALL THESE

14. WHEN YOU SWING A STRUMMING PATTERN YOU MAKE
THE DOWN STRUM LAST SLIGHTLY LONGER THAN THE
UP STRUM.
YOU CAN DO THIS WITH ANY OF THE STRUMS. FOR
EXAMPLE, STRUM PATTERN 4 WOULD SOUND LIKE
THIS WHEN SWUNG.
SWING STRUM
CHANGE THE TEMPO
YOU MAKE ANY OF THESE STRUMS FASTER OR
SLOWER THAN
IN GENERAL, THE MORE COMPLICATED THE STRUM,
THE BETTER IT’LL SOUND SLOWED DOWN. THE MORE
STRAIGHT FORWARD IT IS, THE BETTER IT WORKS AT

15. PRACTICE NO. 1
4/4 Strumming d – d u – u d –

16. PRACTICE NO. 2
4/4 Strumming d – d u – u d u

17. PRACTICE NO. 3
3/4 Strumming d – d u d–