like many here (as i've gathered from scanning posts), gbs inspired me to take up the guitar.  i've been doing fairly well on my own so far (though i havent learned many songs, gbs or otherwise, just yet).  i've found a lot of guitar tabs online for songs i want to learn (props to baldie and his amazing gbs songbooks). 

however, i've found that my greatest challenge when learning a song is figuring out the rhythm to go along with the tabs since not very many places give beat patterns as well as chords.  i'm a long time cello player, so i understand counting and all that jazz, as well as the brute force meathod of trial and error practice to get it down.  i'm curious if anybody has some tips to get better at figuring out strum patterns while listening to songs.

Play along with the CDs or DVDs - turn the volume up enough that you don't drown them out yourself, but so you can still hear your guitar over Alan and Sean's (or whomever's music you are playing with.)

I have seen some songbooks that give a rhythm pattern (James Taylor, but his style is very unique), but generally, you need to develop your own strumming style. 

 

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thanks for the advice

Last bit of advice - don't get discouraged!  Learning guitar (like any instrument) takes lots of practice and lots of dedicated time.  Your fingertips will get sore, maybe even bloody, before you develop calluses.  (Make sure you wipe down the strings after playing, it will make them last longer.)

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http://mjbphotos.tripod.com
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Wow that doesn't inspire me to take up guitar.  I thought I 'd have to work through pain but bloodshed?

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Sing an unwritten song or repent for the deeds you left undone.- GBS
If curious means that you trade your routines for something free, the freedom you feel's the whole point of the deal so curious I'll be! - BNL
Priates over Ninjas!!

depends how much you play.  once it heals though, it makes a nice callous.  my work does a fair job of tearing up my hands and fingers so i barely notice now

Did you think it was all fun, parties and groupies?  

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http://mjbphotos.tripod.com
http://www.myspace.com/mikebirchmusic

never dreamed of getting that far along; I just wanted something more portable/compact than a piano. I envied the kids in school that would sit around playing cool tunes (badly) on their porches while I was bribed with singing lessons to go to piano lessons with (I swear) the oldest piano teacher ever! 

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Sing an unwritten song or repent for the deeds you left undone.- GBS
If curious means that you trade your routines for something free, the freedom you feel's the whole point of the deal so curious I'll be! - BNL
Priates over Ninjas!!

Like Ted Nugent said, "Play until your fingers bleed. Then play some more. Then you'll know you've got something. Ryan: If it helps, think of strumming like bowing, since you're a long time cellist. You'll still have to count it out but once you do you can figure out the downstrokes and upstrokes to make it easier. For example if the rhythm is quarter, two eighths, quarter, two eighths you may want to strum like this: down, down, up, down, down, up. But it may not always be so simple. One thing I remember from attending a Jazz seminar years ago is to always (well, not always, but as a general rule) strum the whole chord at once. I believe this is refered to as "attack." If the song is slow, don't drag your pick or fingers slowly across the strings, strum the whole chord at once. Oh, and always strum straight down and up. Don't let your hand arc across the strings. Strum perpendicular to the strings, especially while using a pick. I hope this helps a little.

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But I know I'm going to do it again!
Oh Yeah!
Robbie

thanks Robbie for the advice.  now i kind of wish i wasn't traveling for the next few days.  i left my guitar at home.  sadness.  i knew i should have brought it with me.

I can't say that I've played until my fingers bled, but once I developed a small blister!  The experts say that playing shouldn't be painful, "no pain no gain" doesn't apply here.  If something's really painful or your fingers are getting numb, stop before you cause yourself permanent damage. 

One great piece of advice I was given years ago was to get a guitar stand and leave the guitar out so you'll be more likely to pick it up and play it.  Keeping it in a case can keep it out of sight and out of mind.  However, there are many situations, like if you have young children or live in a small place, where leaving your guitar out might not be practical. 

As for strums, I often use a basic folk/rock strum that works well for a lot of songs.  I recommend starting by practicing 1 2&3&4&, strumming down on the downbeats and up on the upbeats: down, down up, down up, down up, and repeat for several measures.  After you master that, try playing the same pattern but NOT strumming the strings on your down stroke of 3 (sometimes called a "silent strum" because your hand  keeps the same down up pattern), strumming 1 2&-&4& using down, down up, - up, down up.  When you're learning to change from one chord to another, you might want to leave the last "&" strum off the pattern and play 1 2&-&4 (down, down up, - up, down) to give your fingers a half-beat head start to form the chord so they'll be ready on 1.

Another strum that works well on a lot of trad songs is one I like to call the bluegrass strum  (note that it's not a true bluegrass rhythm guitar strum, but you can buy a DVD if you want to play bluegrass authentically).  Start by practicing 1 2 3&4& (down, down, down up, down up) over and over, then silent strum on 3 and play 1 2 -&4& (down, down, - up, down up).  After you master that, learn to pluck just the bass note on 1, so that your pattern becomes bass, down, - up, down up.  I use this pattern on songs like Lukey, The Night Pat Murphy Died, Jack Hinks, Old Black Rum, and Captain Kidd, among others. 

Hope this helps, and have fun playing!