Four Four Bass Note Rhythm Patterns
The previous bass note rhythm patterns were in ^ time. When playing a progression in * time the following bass note rhythm patterns are commonly used.
Pick the bass note of the chord on the first beat and strum the first three or four strings of the chord on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th beats. Play the following bass note rhythm pattern holding a G chord shape.
Bass Note Rhythm Pattern
The best bass note to pick is the lowest note of the chord that has the same letter name of the chord. This is called the root note.
When playing a G type, pick the 6th string note (G note). E.g., G and G7 chords
When playing a D type, pick the 4th string note (D note). E.g., D, D7 and Dm chords
When playing a C type, pick the 5th string note (C note). E.g., C chord
When playing an A type, pick the 5th string note (A note). E.g., A, A7 and Am
When playing an E type, pick the 6th string note (E note), E.g., E, E7 and Em chords
Practice this rhythm technique on each chord separately at first, remember to hold the full chord shape even though you are not playing all the strings. A, D and E type chords will have the same bass note as shown at the beginning of this lesson. G and C chord types are shown as follows.
Play the following progression using bass note rhythm pattern 1. Play the root note of the first beat of each bar.
Bass Note Rhythm Pattern
While holding a G chord try the following * bass rhythm patterns that incorporate up strums.
Bass Note Rhythm Pattern
Play the following 16 bar Country progression using the * bass note rhythm pattern shown.
A variation to the bass note rhythm pattern is to play the bass note on the first and third beats and strum on the second and fourth beats. Play the following bass note strum rhythm pattern, holding a G chord shape. Play the root note of the chord on the first and third beats of the bar.
Bass Note Rhythm Pattern Variation 2
Try the following 8 bar Country progression that uses bass note rhythm variation 2.
Apply the previous variation to the following 16 bar Country chord progression.
