Exercise 2

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Now that we understand the basic chord structure for the first 8 bars of Cooley’s Reel, we can fill in the silent pauses, 2 and 4, by using a standard 4/4 strum pattern across the 8 bars. A standard 4/4 strum uses a mixture of down and up strokes over one bar which can be counted in a couple of different ways.

The ‘8 in a Bar’ pattern is a more percussive example of the generally used ‘6 in a Bar’ pattern and, used sparingly and with discretion, will add intensity and drive to the accompaniment. One other detail we need to attend to is how to deal with the last bar (Bar 8). The A part of this tune is written over 8 bars but is played twice round thereby giving a total of 16 bars. To preserve the continuity of the rhythm part and to enable the tune to turnaround naturally at the end of these 8 bars, we reverse the 4/4 strum pattern to match the ending of bar 8. This last bar is split between D and Em and is referred to as a split bar. Pay particular attention to this as it is a common feature in many of the tunes we will come across later in the tutorial. Play across the full 8 bars using the standard 4/4 strum pattern remembering to strum the Em chord using the full six strings starting on the bottom E (6th) string and the D chord using only the top four strings, starting on the D (4th) string.

Exercise 3

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