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Chords 101
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Everything you wanted to know about chords and strums (but were afraid to ask)
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Strum Rhythms
Now let’s try a different kind of strum rhythm. Example 5 shows a new rhythm indicated with quarter notes and eighth notes. Put down your pick and try tapping out this rhythm on the back of your guitar. As your foot taps “one two three four, one two three four” on the floor, add a tap after beats two and four with your hand. These in-between beats are eighth notes (two of which equal a quarter note) and are sometimes referred to as the and of the beat. You can count this rhythm as “one two-and three four-and.”
  Example 5
Example 5, Played Slowly
Now let’s transfer that rhythm to strumming a G chord, as shown in Example 6. First, get your left-hand fingers into position. Next, start tapping your foot (slowly!). Now, add the strums. Each time your foot lands on the floor, play a downstroke. When your foot lifts up from the floor after the second and fourth beats, add an upstroke: that means you sweep your pick quickly back across the strings as your right hand returns to its starting point.
Example 6
Example 6, Played Slowly
Once that’s somewhat comfortable, move on to Example 7, which uses the same strum rhythm while changing chords using the “La Bamba” chord progression.
Example 7
Example 7, Played Slowly
E and A Chords
Let’s learn one more chord so we can play a progression similar to Outkast’s “Hey Ya!” The E chord is a guitar player’s best friend—learn it and love it! Put your index finger on the G string at the first fret, your middle finger on the A string at the second fret, and your ring finger on the D string at the second fret. As with the G chord, you get to strum all the strings here.
E Chord
Example 8 shows the “Hey Ya!” progression with a new strumming pattern—a simplification of the one we just learned. Here, the pattern is: down down-up down down. The only difference is you don’t play the upstroke after the fourth beat.
Example 8
Example 8, Played Slowly
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