One of the primary ways that exceptional guitarists stand out from more mediocre ones, is via their ability to bring life and energy to otherwise routine songs using an interesting strumming pattern. A guitarist with a good grasp of strumming can bring a 2-chord G to C song to life, and make the listener think they're hearing something much more complex than they actually are. It's an often neglected aspect of guitar playing; we as guitarists tend to worry much more about getting our fingers in the right positions on the strings. But, a great rhythm guitarist is every bit as valuable to a band as the flashy lead player (and some would argue, more). In the first installment of this feature, we'll examine some of the basics of strumming the guitar, and learn some widely used strumming patterns. First things first... make sure your guitar is in tune, and you have a guitar pick. Using your fretting hand, form a G major chord on the neck. Making sure you are holding your pick properly, practice playing the following example, which is a basic one bar strumming pattern. Alternate between strumming down, and strumming up. When you get done playing the example once, loop it, without any sort of pause. Count out loud: 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 1 and 2 and (etc.) Notice that on the "and" (often referred to as the "offbeat") you are always using an upwards strum. This is something to keep in mind as we progress. If you are having problems keeping a steady rhythm, try listening to, and playing along with, an mp3 of the strumming pattern.