Rhythm Slashes Next to Chords
Question by Kate
(Ireland)
I've been learning guitar for a while now and beside the songs that my teacher writes out for me she writes a chord and then these slashes or lines? for example: G / / / / F / / C / /
I sort of understand but I'm not 100% sure. Is it something to do with beats and rhythm? I'd love a good explanation! Thank you!
Answer
Hi Kate! You are correct, the slashes are to do with rhythm.
If you see G / / / / it simply means finger the G chord and strike it four times.
To keep time, you might find it useful to count the slashes in your head...
![chord rhythm slashes](https://www.fretjam.com/images/rhythm-slashes.gif)
When multiple chords are used, make sure you keep the timing of your strums consistent. So every strum should be spaced the same.
Even if a chord changes after only two strums, keep counting the overall rhythm in groups of four...
G / / / / F / / C / / would be counted as...
Click to hearHope that helps!