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Jamie Andreas, the owner of this site and author of all its content, has devoted an entire book that deals with how to understand the fundamentals of rhythm and how to apply them while changing between chords smoothly. It's a foolproof method that assumes absolute ignorance on behalf of the student. All other rhythm books in existence assume that some pieces of information are so basic that there is no need to address them. So they don't bother to mention them at all. However, some of us do need ALL the information and that is exactly what Jamie gives. EVERYTHING you need to know. It is meticulous.

You will be guaranteed success but only if you fully apply every instruction that is given. Don't assume that it’s too basic or easy for you. DO everything that is asked.

From the physical point of view of executing proper relaxed fluent strumming, you need to purchase Jamie's first book - "The Principles of Correct Practice for Guitar". There is vital information in there that you absolutely need to know about in order to ensure growth as a guitar player. It specifically deals with the physical motions involved for using a pick. It also deals with fundamental higher-level concepts like Muscle Memory and Sympathetic Tension that are understandings that must be appreciated before anything else. And most importantly, it reveals the ‘key to the kingdom’ for directing your practicing efforts - The Basic Practice Approach. The answer to your fast strumming question lies there.

My advice is to order "The Principles of Correct Practice", and "The Guitar Principles Path: Level 1 - Chords and Rhythm" immediately.

Enjoy, and have fun!

-Trevor D. (Guitar Student)
Waterford, Ireland


The Path (besides the Principles) is really the book you need. Start off with both (Principles and Path). Follow the Path closely; I usually branch off on some horizontal development during it depending on the student's interests/needs.

I strongly recommend every teacher finishes the Path completely with a student before starting Mel Bay. You need to complete the rhythm section and get those understandings before you start in trying to teach note reading. They need to have started working on left hand development. It's also important that they get some success in strumming simple songs. Run, don't walk, and get the Path.

Just wanted to share a story especially for you new teachers out there. Yesterday I got a new student. She is 8 years old and has been taking lessons with another teacher at my store for 2-3 months. The teacher went off to college and he divided his students among us teachers who are left. I knew nothing about the little girl or her ability to play.

She & her mom were telling me what she had learned so far & what she was working on with the other teacher. Her mom said she had "learned" a couple of songs but now they wanted to focus on switching chords smoothly and in time. Anyway, I said, "Oh, that's no problem. That's my specialty. I'll have her switching chords smoothly by the end of this lesson!"

She did know where & how to place her fingers and her form isn't as bad as I've seen, but she had no idea how to get from one chord to another and was obviously not used to counting out loud, let alone using a metronome. So I started on “Path” stuff. By the end of the lesson she was doing C-Em, G-Em, and A7-Em smoothly and almost in time. The little girl was happy if a little tired out from all the hard work, and her mom couldn't believe it. She said, "Wow, she was right, that IS her specialty!"

You teachers can't go wrong with the “Path”.

-Le R. (Owner & Teacher, Amazing Cool Music Shop)
Pittsburg, PA.

My advice is to get The Path book. It has helped me tremendously in this area. Jamie has posted lots of material on this site to give you a good idea of what is contained in the book. The book will systematically bring you through the changes as well as teach you how to learn. Once you have the basics, then you can learn any chord change you want.

The hardest part that I found was to get the beginner's mind on these chords. I had been doing all of these open chords "forever", but never with smooth changes. Once I reset my understanding back to zero and followed the instructions carefully, I started seeing big improvements.

-Dave
Boston, MA.

Jamie's written a very concise explanation of rhythm in "The Path". "The Path" is a two part book. One section deals with transitions between chord fingerings, and explains supported versus unsupported changes. The other section is all about rhythm and time signatures: how to count out beats and note durations in the music.

Anyone who has trouble sight-reading rhythms really needs to check out "The Path". No matter how good your chord changes and fingerings are, and no matter how fast you can pick, if you can't read rhythm notation then it doesn't matter whether you read off a treble clef or TAB notation because although the pitch or fingerings will be right you won't be able to get the rhythm part of the music down unless you can listen to someone else play it and pick it up by ear (which I did on a variety of instruments for several years before finally learning to read music... nobody realized I was faking it, but I knew... and that caused the beginning of a lot of performance anxiety although that's a separate issue).

Learning by ear is OK for very basic music and strumming but not once it gets complicated. Furthermore, if you just copy what someone else is playing you won't be able to tell whether what you hear is the actual note, some artistic interpretation... or a mistake!

Some folks decide they can skip the information in "The Path" because they're already good at chord changes and don't think they can benefit from the analysis and theory behind them. After playing intermittently for 20+ years I thought my changes were OK and that I had nothing to gain from this part of the book. Still I was aware that there are gaps in the guitar part of my musical education so I got the book anyway thinking that what I don't know *can* hurt me. Boy, was I right for once.

Dive bombing all my changes basically put an upper limit on the speed and efficacy of those changes, especially when I was playing under pressure. This limited me to bar shifting and chords in first position, and I'd have kept those limitations the rest of my life unless someone showed me how to make supported changes. After 20+ years of hacking around on my own I still hadn't discovered the concepts myself so chances are I wouldn't have ever gotten it on my own.

Others skip the book because although they have trouble reading rhythms they think they can get by just playing by ear. All of this is totally OK if you're playing at the level you want to play and don't feel the need to push your limits. You don't have to improve if you're happy with the level of playing and reading you've got.

But if you want to improve, and if either chord changes or rhythm reading are standing in your way, then you need the information in "The Path". This part happened to be a review for me but only because I took an obscene number of music courses in high school, and had been reading music and studying the theory for a few years before that. A person *might* hack around for a few years and read a bunch of different books and then accumulate the same information. It's easier just to read it in one place. I've never found rhythm notation explained this clearly or completely anywhere else.

Cheers,

-Squeaky
Albuquerque, NM.

The book starts out teaching one chord (easy G) and one basic strum (down, down, down, etc.). Then it goes on to cover five chords: full G, Em, C, D, and Am. The chord changes are broken down microscopically, so one can come to an understanding of how to change with the least amount of effort. The idea is to be able to change from the chords smoothly using the simple strum. This is to prevent the common problem that many players have: hesitation between chord changes.

The second part of the book gives an in depth look at rhythm: defining tempo, measuring sound, singing and playing, understanding the beat, pulse, notes, strumming rhythms, ties, dots, rest, syncopation, time signatures, etc.

I have played for over 30 years. I have played these chords and hundreds more, many, many times. However, I am now coming to a new understanding regarding how to switch chords with the least amount of effort. As a result, when I sit down to figure out fingering for a classical piece I am constantly searching for the position changes that incur the least amount of effort.

I have a ton of guitar method books. I've gleaned bits and pieces from each book, but none gives the complete picture the way Jamie's book does. The “Path” book is in the $26 range. This is a small dollar amount for the treasure chest of information you will receive.

- Donna Z. (Guitarist & Teacher)
Thousand Oaks, CA.


I just wanted write to you with some more detailed observations about "The Path Level One: Chords and Rhythm". I started guitar lessons 2 years ago at the age of 44 after having never played an instrument in my life. I floundered around during the first year with several different teachers where I didn't really learn anything of lasting value except a cursory ability to read music.

Even though I have the desire, attention, and intention to learn to be a musician, one of my biggest stumbling blocks has been my inability to practice chords and strumming along to songs, because I found this too boring.

I can now admit to the real reason that I didn't play chords. My previous teachers never told me that they were hard and that I could not learn a bunch of new chord changes between our weekly lessons (before moving on to the next set of chords for the next weekly lesson).

They made me feel inferior and stupid that I didn't "get it." I didn't really understand rhythms. I was not born with a sense of rhythm, nor any natural talent for playing guitar -- just a love of music. However, after reading "The GuitarPrinciples Path Level One: Chords & Rhythm" and working with it for the past 30 days, I can tell you that I now know that smooth chord changes and a sense of rhythm can be developed and that it is hard to do for many people, not just the "stupid ones." 

I am finally, after two years of training to play a guitar, getting better at my first few chords: G, Em, C, D. I am also improving at reading and strumming along to different rhythms, including syncopated rhythms and 16th notes (which are quite challenging for me). 

I've also come to another epiphany over the last 30 days of working with "The Path". Music, and the ability to play music, comes down to chords and a good sense of rhythm whether I'm strumming, picking out melodies, playing classical pieces, or playing a lead on an electric guitar. I've gone back to the melodies that I'm learning in Mel Bay's Book 1 and looked at them as a series of chord changes, not just a sequence of notes. Wow! This has changed the entire way that I approach learning and playing these songs.

I'm waiting for Level Two, so that I'll understand where to go next! I sure hope that you're working on it!! I am having lots of fun, and "The Path" has given me a new fervor for learning to be a musician.

-Jim C.
Chicago,IL