ok, so ill be listening to songs, and sometimes as im trying to learn something ill even use audacity or whatever to slow it down to help me learn where to sing what part, and how the chords are strummed etc, but i really feel like a solid music theory base would help me alot... sometimes ill be trying to figure out a song, and ill even konw what chords are played, and i cant hear the chord changes because accents and thigns throw me off

how do i learn this? also.. maybe its just the way it is but i have a problem with the rhythms as well sometimes, tho i feel its related to not konwing where the chord changes are... sometimes there will be a video, and he'll go from like C to cmaj or be playing with Em and go to em7 or some other chord and i have trouble telling what it is, even with a video to watch... im just retarded or have bad hearing? or what?

Ted Reeds Progressive Steps to Syncopation.



Get a pair of drum sticks and read through the Book. Then write a simple 4 bar chord progression:

C, Am, F, G

Now go through the book and strum the chord C in the first bar, Am in the second bar, F third and G fourth. Use the Rhythms from the book to dictate the rhythm you're playing on that chord.



In the example above, Ex 1 you would strum four C's on every down beat in the first bar and switch to Am and play four Am's and then F and then G.

In Example 2, you would rest for the first beat of bar one, and then strum the next three down beats on the chord C. Then rest on beat one and strum the following 3 down beats on the Am. So on.

Use a metronome and ignore the bottom line. Only read the top line of music in each example.

This post was edited by Superchum on Feb 8 2012 04:01pm

that may be helpful, its just when the strumming gets very quick i lose count... especially when there is accents and rests and chord changes that i can barely hear thrown in there

gotta keep count with that foot. or do a little sway. anything to help keep beat, usually a moving body part. i like using my left foot. you can always use a metronome but i never really used one. it will come naturally with more time. keep practicing.

the problem isnt keeping a rhythm... its getting it. for instance if i played some unknown piece of music for you, and you knew the chords were Asus Dsus G Em, with some strange hammerons, all the strums very quick, but didnt know exactly where the cohrd changes are, it might be not be a problem for you but it is for me...

then as soon as i htink i haev it, i go to sing along, and it sounds all messed up because the chord changes arnt right, even if i have the rhythm down somewhat