07 6:8 Strumming with Bass Notes

Course: Intermediate Strumming

In this video

We look at strumming in a 6/8 time signature! Here there are 6 beats in a bar rather than the most common 4 beats. This time signature is common in folk and acoustic music.

Every strumming pattern so far has been in 4:4. This means there are four beats in the bar (top number) and each beat is a crotchet i.e. a whole note in length (bottom number)

This is how this is usually written

4 = How many notes per bar

4 = Length of notes i.e. whole notes

6:8 rhythms are super common in all folk and any acoustic music. They have a wonderful feel but a totally different count to what you may be used to.

6 = Count to six each bar

8 = Each count is an 8th note

Here, there are six beats in bar, so yes we count to six! Each count is half a beat long, but that is only important when it's written down. The result is a similar feel to 3:4 Waltz time, but we count to six because the main pulse in the rhythm or music is every six notes.

Interactive TAB - Key Learning Points

Course Completed!

Well done! Let's jump into the next course in this pathway.

Your choice regarding cookies on this site
We use video cookies to embed videos, audio cookies to embed music players, analytical cookies to improve our website, marketing cookies to improve the relevancy of advertising campaigns you receive, payment cookies to process payments, and necessary cookies to enable core functionality.