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BASIC ROCK

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BASIC ROCK

At its inception in the early 1950s, "rock" meant many things: rockabilly (a white Southern blend of R&B and honky-tonk
country music); R&B, with honking saxes and a boogie beat; doo-wop (the intricate vocal harmonizing style invented by
black and white urban street corner singing groups); and pop - the name reserved for everything else, usually lacking the
strong beat of the other styles. Rock has expanded over the decades to include many more musical influences. As rock
has grown, the guitar has become more prominent, and many electric and acoustic guitar styles have evolved.

The strums and picking patterns that follow apply to early Chuck Berry boogie woogie, country rock, folk rock, the
harder-edged strumming of the Stones or Bon Jovi, Southern rock, Beatles-style and contemporary rock ballads,
funk-rock, reggae, Latin rock, and more. Play all the patterns on electric and acoustic guitars; they are played both ways
in rock recordings.

ALL DOWNSTROKES

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This is the basic hard rock beat as in "I Want to Hold Your Hand" (Beatles), "Every Breath You Take" (Police), "Beat It"
(Michael Jackson), "Bad Medicine" (Bon Jovi), "Mony Mony" (Tommy James and the Shondells, Billy Idol), "Jump" (Van
Halen), and "With or Without You" (U2).

ALTERNATING UP AND DOWN STROKES

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This has a slightly more relaxed feel, as in "Proud Mary" (Creedence Clearwater Revival [the Ike and Tina Turner version
would be better with all downstrokes]), "Brown-Eyed Girl" (Van Morrison), "I'm a Believer" (Monkees), and "Got My Mind
Set on You" (George Harrison).

BASIC ROCK #1

AUDIO

Tempo: Fast or medium rock

BASIC ROCK #2

AUDIO

(first part of audio clip)

Tempo: Fast or medium rock

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BASIC ROCK

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This has a looser, lighter feel than Basic Rock #1 and is often used in country rock. Some examples are "American Pie"
(Don McLean), "La Bamba" (Richie Valens, Los Lobos), "Solitary Man" (Neil Diamond), "Maggie May" (Rod Stewart),
"Kokomo" and "Sloop John B." (Beach Boys), and "Time After Time" (Cyndi Lauper).

This is for rock with a slightly funky feel, as in "You're No Good" (Linda Ronstadt, Betty Everett), "I Heard It Through the
Grapevine" (Marvin Gaye [the Creedence Clearwater Revival version sounds more like Basic Rock #1 with alternating up
and downstrokes]), "It's Too Late" (Carole King), and "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay" (Otis Redding, Michael Bolton).

This basic shuffle strum fits tunes like "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" (Jim Croce), "Pride and Joy" (Stevie Ray Vaughan), "All
Shook Up" (Elvis Presley), "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" (Queen), "California Girls" (Beach Boys), "Higher Ground"
(Stevie Wonder, Red Hot Chili Peppers). On tunes with moderate tempos, you can still use all downstrokes to give this
strum a harder edge.

BASIC ROCK #3

AUDIO

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ROCK SHUFFLE #1

AUDIO

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Tempo: Moderately slow to moderate rock

Tempo: Moderate to bright shuffle

ROCK SHUFFLE #2

AUDIO

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Tempo: Moderate shuffle

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BASIC ROCK

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This lesson is from the book:

Dictionary of Strum and Picking Patterns for Guitar

If you play rock, blues, country, pop, soul/funk, heavy metal, jazz, or folk, here are all
the strumming and picking patterns you need.

Over 150 patterns and nearly 100 rhythmic grooves help you cover any musical
situation. Styles are cross-referenced.

The book includes tablature, music, and a recording of every pattern, plus tips on
equipment and effects.

Inventory # HL 696513. Book/CD pack $14.95 (US).

This is the strum used in "Chains" (the Cookies, the Beatles), "Mountain of Love" (Harold Dorman, Johnny Rivers), "How
Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" (Marvin Gaye, James Taylor), "Loves Me Like a Rock" and "Slip Slidin' Away" (Paul
Simon).

FAST ROCK SHUFFLE

AUDIO

Tempo: Fast shuffle