We have looked at basic 16th note patterns and accents, so lets now look at a slightly more complex 16th note pattern. It's a really useful one to get down and once you have it under you fingers you will find you can make up variations of it that groove real well.

Making some louder, or softer...

The easiest way to get this under your fingers is to do it REALLY slowly. Don't be afraid to count it out aloud as you do it, and just the feeling for it and the sound in your body.

Of course you need to keep you hand moving, the bold notes are the ones you play:

D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U

I find saying the bold notes out aloud a good way of getting it in my head! You'll hear me doing that on the video.

The diagram should help you too, I know we have not looked at reading all the various ways of writing 16th notes but I hope between listening to me play it, the diagram below and these hints you will get it fine!

It's a quite common pattern, and there are many variations used that you are sure to hear once you have learned this one. There are many more examples of these groves in Really Useful Strumming Techniques II as well.

Any of you that worked through Really Useful Strumming Techniques I will remember the way to make up your own patterns using various 8th notes - well the same thing works here too! It's lots of fun making up your own and there is no limit to your creativity - just listen out for what sounds good! :)

Important points

Make sure you only tap you foot on the beat
We looked at this already lots of times, the new struggle here is not to tap your foot when you are accenting the beat - it's a really common mistake - but one you will avoid if you have been good and working on tapping your foot all the time. If you struggle with it - do it slowly - and maybe take the foot out for a while if it's really throwing you off. Get the pattern right and then try and bring the foot back in!

Playing with the metronome
Using the metronome is a good idea of course, and it will feel a little odd at first to be playing accents that are not on the beat - but once you get used to it - it feels cool to be doing that and it is the accents kinda distracting the beat (syncopation) that makes patterns like this sound so cool!

Further Information on 16th note strumming

If you want to get into your 16th note playing, then check out my DVD Really Useful Strumming Techniques 2 - it covers them in a lot more detail than I do in this course and has 24 of the most common patterns. Many of my students say that my two strumming DVDs changed how well the could play rhythm in a very short period of time, even those who struggled with it for many years and I believe them to be the most important of my teaching products. Worth a look me thinks!