FOLK  and  COUNTRY  RHYTHMS

 

Folk and Country music is largely dominated by the acoustic guitar,

Mainly as a result of its portability and versatility where there is no drummer or bass player the guitar assumes the role of time and harmony.

 

The BALLAD is the most common rhythm and by definition it is played at a slow to moderate tempo with any of the following, plectrum,thumbpick,fingerpics or fingerstyle.

 

Time signatures are usually ¾ and 4/4 and the songs use simple basic chords and progessions almost always played with a full left hand sustain,by that I mean they are allowed to sustain without being dampened.

 

The most common right hand styles are a full open strum, alternative bass notes with arpeggios,  the strums may be upstrokes or downstrokes playing a steady smooth rhythm with the most common timing being a downstroke on the 1st beat , an upstroke on the 2nd beat , a down on the 3rd and up on the 4th beat.

 

Folk and Country styles played faster quite often relate to a kind of dance, American bluegrass, mountain , western swing and Irish jigs and reels all share common elements.