I strum too much!!

[AcousticAl]

Seems like I've hit a chord with some.
Good responses and ideas coming back, so thank you.

A great example of what I'm talking about is with 'The Loner'- that I've been working on for about a week. I'll upload it soon and continue this discussion.

**Edit- I just posted my version of 'The Loner' to the Student Review section, where you'll see exactly what I'm talking about.

[dennisg]

Al,

This is a good topic. And I completely agree with Hydroman. There is a tendency, especially for soloists, to fill dead air with chords. There's much less of a tendency for singer/guitarists to do that because their voices fill up space and provide variety. Guitarists in bands with other instruments generally allow a lot of air.

Some time when you have nothing to do, put on the Fleetwood Mac Rumors album and listen to how Lindsey Buckingham built his guitar tracks. There are times when an entire passage can go by with one or two notes from his guitar. I always thought he was a master of the less-is-more school of guitar playing.

The related issue you brought up is about inconsistent strumming patterns. I would have no problem with this, as long as you keep tempo. I think variety (double-timing, for example) in strumming adds an interesting complexity to a song.

- Dennis

[Lavallee]

AndyT wrote:

450 different strum patterns? Wow. That's a lot. What book is that?

Andy, It is called Rhythm Guitar encyclopedia by Jody Fisher.

Marc