Help identifying strum pattern for a song, please!


faith83
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faith83
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07/04/2020 1:01 am

I'm more than a little bit obsessed with Some Days Are Diamonds and would love to learn how to play it. There are a number of "how to play" videos on YouTube and every one of them uses a different strum pattern, none of which seem quite right.

Can anyone help? I'd like to use the same pattern as John Denver uses in this video. There is a close up of his right hand at 1:48:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQW87VU__Pc

PS -- A very surreal 1980s German video... only one I could find of him doing it live.


"I got this guitar and I learned how to make it talk."

# 1
Herman10
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Herman10
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07/04/2020 2:06 am

He uses a straith up and down strum with a swing feel, Anders teaches that in his new acoustic 2 level. https://www.guitartricks.com/lesson.php?input=29869

Herman


# 2
faith83
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faith83
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07/04/2020 2:23 am

That was my initial assumption, too, but then every tutorial I found said it was something more complicated.


"I got this guitar and I learned how to make it talk."

# 3
Herman10
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Herman10
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07/04/2020 5:17 am

It's no more then that through out the song, just use the chords from the lessons or from 911 tabs and play along and you will hear that it matches.

https://www.911tabs.com/link/?8210062 and think of it that he played a 12 string guitar in the video that sounds different from a 6 string.


# 4
Herman10
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Herman10
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07/04/2020 9:32 am

The chords aren't correct, here are the good ones

verse, G / D / Em / C

G / C / G / Em

A7 / D

chorus, G / C / G /

Em / A7 / D

G / C / G / Em

G / D / G / C / D / D7

intro and interlude, G / G sus4

transition; G / Gsus4 / A / Asus4

key change, A / D / A

F#m / B7 / E

A / D / A

F#m / A / E /

A / A sus4 / A


# 5
faith83
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faith83
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07/04/2020 11:56 am

Thank you! I have so much trouble determining strum pattern from looking at video. I should have trusted my ears, which said the same thing as you! :-)


"I got this guitar and I learned how to make it talk."

# 6
Herman10
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Herman10
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07/05/2020 12:21 am

You're welcome, in music you better trust your ears then your eyes after all, music is a thing of the ears and mind and I think can be better enjoyed with your eyes closed.

The strumming pattern thing will come with experience, don 't worry to much about that.


# 7
faith83
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faith83
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07/05/2020 1:08 am

Thank you! It didn't help that the tutorials I watched all said different patterns, all of which were more complex. I figured that meant I was missing something. Probably they were just looking to mix it up a bit, since without the backing of a band, it would probably be a little repetitive to do the one he's using for the whole song.

PS I kinda enjoy John Denver with my eyes open ;-) but that's a whole 'nother topic for another forum, LOL.


"I got this guitar and I learned how to make it talk."

# 8

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