BS-308 • What's Up - 4 Non Blondes

[SiegeFrog]

I think I still don't understand the capo. The original song uses A Bm D A, a I ii IV I progression. We don't do Bm in the BC, so Justin puts the capo on the second fret and plays G Am C G grips, still a I ii IV I progression, so we can play along with the record and use chords we've learned through Stage 3. Toward the end of the lesson, Justin mentions that he's struggling to sing because it's outside of his range; understandable, since it was originally sung by a woman. Then, he suggests moving the capo up to the fifth fret to find a more suitable range. How is moving the capo up 3 frets going to make it easier for a man to sing? I was expecting him to suggest removing the capo altogether and still play the G Am C G grips in open position. What am I missing here?

[Tim Mason]

@SiegeFrog

It's not a staircase, it's a wheel.

[bradt]

Also, write out the notes from the chords you are playing with the capo at the second fret. You may be surprised what chords those actually are.

[stitch101]

SiegeFrog
You don't sing in the same pitch of the guitar you sing in the same key. Moving the capo up three frets
in the key of C. So you would sing an octave lower than your guitar.

[SiegeFrog]

You don't sing in the same pitch of the guitar you sing in the same key. Moving the capo up three frets
in the key of C. So you would sing an octave lower than your guitar.

I think this was the critical piece. I'm moving the capo up the neck and thinking to myself this is just getting higher. How is this helping me? So, I'm guessing that if he kept the capo at the 2nd fret and tried to sing an octave lower than the guitar then it would be too low for his range?

Also, write out the notes from the chords you are playing with the capo at the second fret. You may be surprised what chords those actually are.

So the original is A Bm D A in the key of A. By placing the capo at the 2nd fret and playing the G Am C G grips, I'm still playing the original A Bm D A chords, just different voicings. Correct? If I place the capo at the fifth fret and still play the G Am C G grips, then I'm playing C Dm F C in the key of C. Correct? Since I'm in a different key then I can't play along with the original, and I'm going to need to sing in a different octave then my guitar.

It's not a staircase, it's a wheel.

I think I have the habit of always trying to sing in the same pitch as the guitar. I do a lot of falsetto. Not well.

Thanks all. I think I have it now.

[Fresher]

So, I'm in Stage 3 and I'm not really into adding up strums on the app songs, but I would like to give it a try and I want some suggestion on the pattern, specifically for the song "What's Up".

Cheers.

[hilts17]

Have you watched Justin's video lesson for this song? Halfway thru the lesson he discusses and thoroughly demonstrates the strumming pattern incorporating up strokes.

[Fresher]

Oh yeah I watched the video, there's no graphic to show the pattern. I had to slow down the video to get the pattern, it's this?

↓↓↑↓↓ ↑↓↑↓↑↓↑↓↑
1   2      3   4        1      2      3      4

Ok I'm having trouble, sometimes he says the above and sometimes:

↓↓↑↓↓ ↑↓↑↓↑↑↓↑ This don't have the 4º beat in the second bar.
1   2      3   4        1      2          3

I could fix this:

↓↓↑↓↓ ↑↓↑↓↑↑↓↑
1   2      3   4        1      2       3  4

But he said the beats is only on down strums and this doesn't make sense and don't sound good.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7wsYYY1o98

So what am I missing?

[Garfield]

I didn't really play this one when I was doing stage 3 but I seem to remember it's not a straight forward pattern. Maybe come back to it when you've developed a bit. If you're still struggling with chords changes then now is not the time to try and add tricky strumming.

Sent from my SM-A530F using JustinGuitar Community mobile app

[close2u]

temp

[close2u]

@ Fresher

You seem to be constantly asking questions about things you can't do or don't understand - because you are constantly trying to learn and play things way beyond your ability level.
People keep advising you to just follow the beginner course and be patient.
Take it steady and learn to play the instrument properly a bit at a time.

For your benefit, and anyone else wanting it written out, tthe strum pattern is a two-bar pattern.


Learn it slowly, very slowly, by setting up a tempo of your own or using a metronome at a slow tempo, then play only muted hits across the strings (by resting your fretting hand on the strings, not pressing) and play the pattern over and over and over again until you have it firmly embedded in to your brain and muscles..
Then speed up a bit at a time.
Then play it with one chord and one chord only.
Then introduce a chord change.
Then try to apply it to the chord progression of the song.
This will take more than an hour - it may take days and weeks.

[Fresher]

@Garfield Alright.

@close2u Well it seems that this is avanced. So I won't ask on how to play songs with up strums anymore. It's strange because it looks so easy.

[Garfield]

@Garfield Alright.

@close2u Well it seems that this is avanced. So I won't ask on how to play songs with up strums anymore. It's strange because it looks so easy.

You can play upstrums but maybe start a bit slower than this pattern. Stage 3 has a rythym guitar lesson with the pattern dddud. Start with that, then in stage 4 it's a different pattern. Justin keeps introducing things slowly and that's the way to tackle the guitar.

Sent from my SM-A530F using JustinGuitar Community mobile app

[Fresher]

I tried to use the pattern that Justing shows in the video and something is not right

https://soundcloud.com/user-425507417/2019-11-11-16-01-061a/s-u3w3X

Don't kill me, I'm just having fun, it's all about having fun

Capo on the 2º fret.