LESSON #616
​Refine Your Rhythm & Never Lose the Beat!

​Click to watch free video lesson »​

If you asked me to give you one strumming lesson that’ll make the most difference your playing, it’s this one. It’s an exercise I put together over the years during my own practice – and finally I’ve made a proper lesson showing you how to do it.

I’m calling it the pyramid drill – which seems fitting because of the ascend-then-descend structure, similar to what you find in many workout routines.

This drill is based around four levels, all of which share the same rhythmic pulse. Your job is to connect them all without losing the beat — moving up the pyramid, and then returning back down again.

• Level 1: Quarter notes (down strums only)
• Level 2: 8th notes (down & up strums)
• Level 3: 8th notes (down strums only, with 2x strumming speed)
• Level 4: 16th notes (down & up strums, with 2x strumming speed)

This exercise takes less than a minute to do, but there's countless ways to you can mix things up & tailor it to your specific skill level. It'll help you play on the beat, help you count 8th & 16th notes, refine your rhythm dynamics, and even teach you to improvise your strumming within any set strumming pattern.

You can perform this drill with or without a metronome, and likewise with or without out-loud counting. My video lesson is full of practical tips to utilize while learning & practicing this drill.

To accompany my main lesson, I made a 4-page PDF handbook to give you visual diagrams to follow when you're away from your computer. I also made two bonus videos, including one showing how to use this drill in 6/8 time.

LET'S PUT IT TO USE!
​Song Lessons with 16th Note Strumming

Many of you have asked for tips for 16th note strumming, and this week's new lesson will absolutely help address that technique.

If you want a bit of actual-song practice to test your newly forged strumming skills, here's all the songs I've taught that use 16th note strumming:

• ​Strumming Guide for Into the Mystic by Van Morrison
• ​Strumming Guide for Fast Car by Tracy Chapman
• ​Linger by The Cranberries
• ​Scarlet Begonias by Grateful Dead
• ​Crowded Table by The Highwomen
• ​Interstate Love Song by Stone Temple Pilots
• ​Yellow Ledbetter by Pearl Jam
• ​Melissa by Allman Brothers Band
• ​Flake by Jack Johnson
• ​Dublin Blues by Guy Clark
• ​Millionaire by Chris Stapleton
• ​Nothing Compares 2 U as played by Chris Cornell
• ​My Church by Maren Morris
• ​Rocky Mountain High by John Denver
• ​Creep by Radiohead
• ​Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground by Willie Nelson
• ​Out on the Weekend by Neil Young

This lesson has been on my to-do list for a long time — and while I've shared draft versions of it with several Song Notes members via email, I'm glad to finally have a fully baked tutorial available for all of you.

Now... on to some song lessons! I've got a ton of great community requests to pick through, and look forward to sharing something else new soon. Until then ✌️

David
​Browse all my lessons at songnotes.net​

PS – I've updated the Most Popular Songs page on my website... it now shows the most-favorited songs at the top of the list! This is powered by the new Favorites feature that I added last week. Every time you load the page, this lists the most-favorited lessons accordingly.

If you missed my prior email about the new members-only ability to save & organize your favorite lessons, check out the Favorites video tour »​

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