Counting Music and the Basics of Strumming – A Beginners Guide

Welcome to Day 2 of 30 Days of Guitar! Today we are going to learn all about rhythm: how to count music, how to hold a guitar pick, how to strum a guitar, and more. Then, we’ll start learning an easy 2 chord song on guitar: Horse With No Name for absolute beginners. So grab your guitar and let’s get started!

Learning How to Count Music and Strum: Guitar for Beginners

How to hold a guitar pick

To hold a guitar pick, start by holding it between your thumb and index finger. Then, adjust your grip until the pick is held firmly between the thumb and the side of your index finger. You can also adjust the angle of the pick slightly in order to get the sound and response you want from your guitar strings

How to strum a guitar

To strum a guitar, start by resting your strumming hand lightly on the strings near the sound hole of your guitar. Next, use your strumming hand to hit down on a few strings in an up-down motion. By varying the pressure and speed of your strum, you can get different sorts of sounds. You can practice strumming different rhythms and see what sounds you like best.

How to count music

Music is composed of a number of beats, and they are divided into even divisions called counts. You can count music using a system of two or four beats in each bar. To count two beats per bar, use the numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4. For four beats per bar, use the numbers 1 &, 2 &, 3 &, and 4 &. Keep counting the same pattern over and over, and when you reach the end of the musical piece, you’ll be back to the beginning of the pattern

Putting chords and strumming together

Now that we have the basics down, we can start to put chords and strumming together. Make sure to count in 1-2-3-4 slowly before you start strumming, so you stay in time with the music. Practicing like this will help you to get a better rhythm and make it easier to transition between chords

Practice playing Horse With No Name on guitar

Now that we understand the basics of rhythm, let’s practice playing the song “Horse With No Name” on guitar. Make sure to count 1-2-3-4 as you strum. Once you’re comfortable with the chords and rhythm, you can experiment with adding in different strumming patterns and other techniques. Have fun and happy strumming!