LESSON #6

Strumming Technique

Try this. Play every stroke indicated as, firstly a down stroke and then an up stroke. i.e. down, up, down, up.

Down   Up Dn Up etc.

CMaj7  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  etc.

Now, keeping the same hand movement, only make contact with the strings if a dot is NOT indicated (a dot means a rest remember.) When you get to a dot (rest) you should let the hand move in the direction it is supposed to be going, down or up, but WITHOUT making contact with the strings.

 

CMaj7  /  .  .  /  /  .  .  /  /  .  . etc.

CMaj7  .  .  .  / / . . etc.

 

Song Construction

Here is the first song.

I Shot the Sherrif (Bob Marley)

Gm7  .  /  /  .  .  /  .       Gm7  .  /  /  .  .  /  .

Dm7  .  /  /  .  .  /  .       Dm7  .  /  /  .  .  /  .    4 times

EbMaj7 .  /  /  .  .  /  .     Dm7  .  /  /  .  .  /  .

Gm7    .  /  /  .  .  /  .     Gm7  .  /  /  .  .  /  .    4 times

Going by the previous chart, can you say what key we are playing in?
Hint: In what key do ALL of these chords appear.

Well, in case you didn't spot it, it's Bb. The chords Gm7, Dm7, and EbMaj7 all appear in the key of Bb.

This means that, if we were to record the progression, we could select notes from the scale of Bb to 'jam' over the top of it and it would all sound 'in key.'

This is not to say that it would sound brilliant but at least it would be in the correct key, etc.

Here's another one, this time a little more jazzy.

Loving You  (Minnie Riperton?)


CMaj7  .  .  .  /  .  .  .       Bm7    .  .  .  /  .  .  .

Am7    .  .  .  /  .  /  .       GMaj7  .  .  .  /  .  .  .   

Am7    .  .  .  /  .  .  .       Bm7    .  .  .  /  .  .  .

Am7    .  .  .  /  .  /  .       GMaj7  .  .  .  /  .  .  .   



Can you say what key this song is in. Have a go yourself and I'll tell you in a minute.

Here's another one for you, this one is quite obscure but it's one of my favourites.

 

Lucille  (Frank Zappa)


CMaj7  .  /  /  .  .  /  .      CMaj7  .  /  /  .  .  /  .

Dm7    .  /  /  .  .  /  .      Dm7    .  /  /  .  .  /  .

Em7    .  /  /  .  .  /  .      Em7    .  /  /  .  .  /  .

Em7    .  /  /  .  .  /  .      Em7    .  /  /  .  .  /  .



How about this tune. Can you say what key this is in?

A good rule of thumb for identifying the key of the song is to look at the chords and try to see, to which key, the majority of them apply. I say, the majority, because if you were to go back to the song House of the Rising Sun you will see that (looking at the 3 note chords) we cannot say that ALL of the chords belong to any particular key. We could say that the majority of them, however, belong to the key of C.

Another good rule of thumb is to look at the first and last chords. 99 out of 100 times, a tune will start in it's home key. This is why I have chosen these 3 tunes because none of them start on the home chord, but this is pretty rare.

In case you didn't spot them, the song Loving You is in the key of G and so too is Lucille.

 

Modulation

If a song is in a particular key but (occasionally) uses chords outside of the scope of the key it is said to modulate to a different key (and probably come straight back.) House of the Rising Sun is a good example of this kind of modulation and, in fact, it is so brief that the ear doesn't have time to realise that the tune HAS modulated.

A more drastic example is in the Queen type of thing. I'll write it in tab for you to make it a bit clearer.

    G   C   A   D   B   E  C#  F#         D          A

E---X---X---X---X---X---X---X---X---------X----------X-----------------------------
B---3---5---5---7---7---9---9--11---------7----------2-----------------------------
G---4---5---6---7---8---9--10--11---------7----------2-----------------------------
D---5---5---7---7---9---9--11--11---------7----------2-----------------------------
A---2---3---4---5---6---7---8---9---------5----------0-----------------------------
E---X---X---X---X---X---X---X---X---------X----------X-----------------------------



We can use modulation to add interest to a song. One favourite way is to play a few verses and choruses of a song and then modulate (usually up by 1, 2 or 3 tones) to a new key for the remainder of the song.

Another favourite is to modulate within the verse of a song. This is a favourite 'soul' technique and adds a sense of professionalism to a song. Here is one example...

E    .    /   .   Abm7  .   /   .   A   .   /   .   C#m   .   CMaj7 .

Bm7  .    /   .   Em7   .   /   .   Am7 .   /   .   CMaj7 .   D     .

E    .    /   .   Abm7  .   /   .   etc...



This is actually modulating from the key of E to the key of G and back. Using your chart, see if you can spot the point where it modulates and the point where it comes back (home.)