Chords for The Strum Pattern That UNLOCKS ALL Strum Patterns

[N] _ [Eb] Hey, what's up everyone?
[B] Mike here from the Art of Guitar.
Way back in the day, in olden [Bb] times,
we had a thing [A] called just the regular Nintendo system, NES.
[B] And you [Eb] could actually type in [Ab] cheat codes [B] using the controller, so you could warp [A] to different worlds,
you could do all sorts of things [Ab] with certain games, but you had to know the combination to [B] type in.
So one of them was up-down, up [A]-down, left-right, left-right, BA, [Bb] or something like that.
I kind of forgot what it is, [D] but I realized that when it comes to strumming on the [Bb] guitar,
there's an actual [Ab] cheat code that a lot of my [Bb] students, once they learn it, [C] suddenly [Eb] all these [Bb] other strums
[Ab] make [Bm] sense to them.
It's really [C] weird.
So I wanted to let you guys know what that is today [B] and see if it works for you as well.
If you're feeling a little [Bbm] stuck when it comes to rhythm or strumming, this should help you out, okay?
There's [B] proof.
I've been doing this for decades [Bb] now, and I've [Cm] seen countless students, all of a sudden, [C] something clicks.
And they're like, oh, I understand [Bb] how it feels to play rhythm correctly now.
It's kind of cool.
So I'll show it to [E] you right now, step by step,
but what I want you guys to do [B] is to start very slow.
Don't skip anything [Dbm] until you feel like you have it [B] down.
Then you can just take [Ab] off with it, alright?
[Db] So what I want [Bb] you to do [C] _ _ [D] is
mute your [Db] strings just by touching them a little bit [A] so you get a dead sound when you hit your strings.
_ [G] You can also [Bb] use a full chord like a G chord.
Just make sure it includes six [Ab] strings when you do this,
[G] _ either G or E major, or [Bb] just something with all six strings.
What I want you to do, I'm just gonna do the muted version, [Gb] is just follow my strumming hand. [Bb] Exactly, alright?
[B] So the first thing we're gonna do is just a downstroke where we make [Ab] contact with the string, [Db] and
_ [Bb] then we come back home without hitting [B] the strings.
That's step one.
_ _ [Db] _
Step two is [F] gonna be a down and [B] an [Abm] upstroke, making contact, _ _ [G] and
[B]
then drop your hand without hitting the strings. _
That feels weird to people.
It's hard to do, [A] to just let your hand [C] drop for some reason.
_ And then we're gonna go up-down, [Abm] making contact, _ _ [A] _ _ [B] and
then [C] return back home without hitting the strings.
Those are your [Bbm] three steps.
_ Alright, so the cheat code is [G] down, [Bbm] down, up, up, [Ab] down, if we're talking the Nintendo codes.
[C] So we're gonna go like this.
[Bb] _ _
_ [B] Down, down, up, _ up, down.
_ Now it looks like I'm sewing or something.
I'm really [Eb] exaggerating my movements, [Bm] but I don't want you guys to do that.
What I want you to do, eventually, is [C] just barely miss [Bbm] the strings, alright?
I'm doing [B] this so it looks really obvious.
Don't strum like this.
[Bm] Alright, so let's go like this now.
[B] Let's go slow one [Bb] more time, and then add a chord and start [Ab] to speed up.
Okay, let's go really slow.
[B] Down and make contact.
_ _ [Db] Let's bring the hand up [G] without hitting anything.
[Bb] We're back home.
_ Step two, down [Ab] and up, making [Eb] contact. _ _
Drop the hand without making a sound.
[Bb] Once again,
that's gonna be the hardest part for a lot of people because it feels weird.
[C] Alright, step three, final [Bb] step, up-down, making contact, _ _ and then bring it home without making a [N] sound.
_ _ [Bb] Okay, if I do this at a medium [Ab] pace now, like Tenacious D would say, you're gonna go like this. _ _
[N] _ _ _ [D] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [Ab] Alright, so I'll say it while I [B] play it.
Down, _
_ _ down, up, [C] _ up, [B] _ down.
[N] _ _ The hardest part is not making contact.
[Cm] It's avoiding [Db] the strings at the right time.
Just gonna feel very strange, [D] but you're unlocking [Bb] something in your brain.
So it's gonna feel weird at first for some people.
Some people get it right away.
Other people, they had so much [Bbm] trouble, all of a sudden, boom, it clicks.
So keep at it.
Don't give up if it feels weird.
Keep at it [A] for a while, and then you'll see.
You'll [Bb] just come back to the guitar if you put it away for a couple minutes, and all of a sudden,
it seems like your brain kept practicing.
It'll click in, I promise.
Okay, now let's go like [N] this.
_ _ [B] _ _
_ Down, down, [C] up, _ up, down.
_ _ _ Down, down, up, up, down.
Down, down, up, up, [B] down.
_ Down, down, up, up, down.
[D] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [A] _ _ _
[B] There's an old song by Tony [Bb] Bazzill, Old Mickey You're So Fine, Hey Mickey, and it has that rhythm.
_ _ [Abm] _ _
[B] I always think about that when I do it.
[Bb] Okay, the biggest problem people [B] seem to have is [C] on missing the strings.
[Eb] They tend to forget [B] when to do it, and their [Bb] hand ends up looking like this.
[G] _ _ [Gb] _
_ _ [C] Okay, if it's [Db] real [Bbm] stiff and [A] robotic, you're doing it wrong.
[C] Look at when I do it [G] correctly.
_ [Bb] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [Eb] _ [B] Notice my arm just keeps moving in a fluid fashion.
That's [Bb] what you want [G] eventually.
Okay, once you have that, let's add a chord, and if you're already doing a chord, just keep doing it.
_ [D] All right, let's go with G [Bb] and do the [G] strum. _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ I [Bb] used to call it the John Mellencamp [B] strum.
I'm gonna start [Bb] calling it the Bob Seger strum now because [Abm] it sounds like night moves or something.
[G] So _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [B] you notice [Db] I keep returning [B] [C] home.
I never let my hand just [A] stay anywhere.
[Abm] That's the biggest mistake people [Ab] make.
Don't let [Bb] that happen.
Keep it flowing.
The next thing you [G] want to do is you [Ab] start switching chords.
So maybe go from G major to C add 9 back and forth.
That's always a good one [Bb] because you barely have to think about [Ab] moving.
It's the old poison, every [A] rose has its thorn, or the [B] green day trick.
All right, let's go like [G] this. _ _
We'll do twice with this strum pattern. _ _
_ _ Now as we're coming back home, switch to the next chord.
_ [C] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ Back to G. _
[B] See how you can use that little bit of [G] time when you're coming back [Cm] home to switch chords?
That's very [G] helpful. _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[C] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [G] _ _ _ _
All right, [Eb] so it might take you a while to get to that speed.
I just [Bb] jumped ahead to save you guys a little bit of time, but really take it slow.
Eventually, you'll [Bbm] be switching to many chords and keeping the rhythm going.
[Eb] This is the eventual [G] goal. _ _ _
_ [C] _ _ _ _ [D] _ _ _
[C] _ _ _ _ [G] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [A] It feels [B] really good.
[Bbm] And like I said, it unlocks future strums.
So even if you're doing [Dbm] something kind of difficult like
_ [A] _ _ _ _
_ _ [B] _ _ _ _ _ [A] _
_ _ _ _ _ [B] _ _ _
or whatever you're doing, it's just gonna feel right instead of being [Bbm] very strange and awkward.
[G] So let's see if it works for you guys.
Let me know in the [Bbm] comments.
This is a good lesson to do after that [C] first lesson that I put out called
This [Bb] Should Be Everybody's First Lesson.
Add this new strum [B] to what you learned in that previous lesson and you'll be [G] pretty set to go.
And if you want to go even further, go ahead [Bb] and jump to theartofguitar.com and check out all my lessons.
They're all there.
[Bbm] It's this big library and I do it from start to finish so you guys can follow along and learn at your own pace.
Okay.
All right guys.
Thanks for