All Posts by Jonathan Boettcher

The Muted Stroke Strum

Dynamic Rhythm Guitar

In this lesson we’re going to cover a few different rhythm techniques that you can use to make your playing more dynamic and interesting.

The first is the muted stroke strum. The key here is to mute all six strings while still strumming them evenly. I chose bar chords for the progression because they make it easiest to mute, but you can use open chords too, you just need to work a little harder.

Next up we’ll change to wide open half-bar strums. We’ll also slip a slash chord (D/F#) in the mix, giving us a nice little ascending bass line.

In the 11th bar, we chug away on the A, using all downstrokes, on the eighth notes. On the 12th bar, hit that A one last time, then throw a riff in of your choosing.

The one that I demonstrated works off the D chord, 4th and 2nd strings at the 7th fret. Then you can duplicate that on the 5th fret as well.

The other riff I showed used the same notes, but all on the 6th string. Isn’t it cool how you can go two totally different directions with those things?

If you want to take your rhythm playing a whole lot further, checkout my Dynamic Rhythm Guitar course. We work with a lot of different techniques similar to the ones you’ve seen here today, and many, many more!

Click here to learn more about Dynamic Rhythm Guitar

Following The Chords 2/2

The chord progression we're working with today is one bar each of Bm, G, D, and A. 

If you've got any questions about the lesson, use the comments below and I'll do my best to help!

Following The Chords 1/2

The chord progression we're working with today is one bar each of Bm, G, D, and A. 

If you've got any questions about the lesson, use the comments below and I'll do my best to help!

Add Groove and Movement With Rhythmic Fills

Want More Life and Movement In Your Strumming?

Ever feel like your rhythm playing sounds flat or robotic — even when you’re hitting all the right chords?

That’s where rhythmic fills come in. In this short lesson, you’ll learn a simple move that instantly adds energy, motion, and personality to your playing — without needing to learn new chords or complex strumming patterns.

These fills are quick, easy, and work with the chords you already know. They’re one of the fastest ways to make your rhythm guitar sound more alive and musical.

In This Lesson, You’ll Learn:

✅ How to add movement and expression to your strumming with one simple technique
✅ When to drop a rhythmic fill into your playing for maximum energy
✅ How this small move creates a huge impact — without making your strumming feel cluttered
✅ Why fills help your rhythm feel more like music and less like a metronome

Want More Lessons Like This?

This is just one piece of what we cover in the full Secrets of Expressive Strumming course.

If you’ve ever felt like your playing is missing feel, groove, or personality — this course shows you how to unlock it, using the chords and skills you already have. Even 10 or 20 years into your playing, there’s room for transformation.


Unlock the Full Course Now »

Palm Muting: The Secret to Dynamic, Expressive Strumming

Want More Control and Groove in Your Strumming?

If your rhythm playing sounds too stiff — even though you’re hitting the right chords — you’re not alone.

Palm muting is a simple, powerful trick that gives your rhythm guitar more control, better tone, and way more feel.  In this quick lesson, you’ll learn how to use palm muting to tighten up your playing and add dynamic contrast without needing any fancy theory.

In This Lesson, You’ll Learn:

✅ How to use palm muting to instantly add groove and energy
✅ When to **tighten up** your rhythm vs. let it ring
✅ How to create **contrast and clarity** in your strumming
✅ Why this one technique helps your rhythm feel more musical and expressive 

Want More Lessons Like This?

This is just one part of what we cover in the full *Secrets of Expressive Strumming* course.

Whether you’ve been playing for 10 or 20 years — or just want to break past that “same old strumming” sound — this course shows you how to unlock the feel, groove, and control that makes rhythm guitar fun to play and listen to.


Unlock the Full Course Now »

Stop Boring Strumming — Learn 2 Fast & Powerful Rhythm Moves

Want Your Strumming to Sound Less Robotic and More Musical?

If your rhythm playing feels stiff — even though you know the chords — you’re not alone.

This quick video shows you 2 simple strumming tricks that instantly make your playing sound tighter, more expressive, and way more enjoyable to listen to. No complicated theory, just real results you can hear right away.

In This Lesson, You’ll Learn:

✅  How to use a “half-strum” technique to clean up your rhythm
✅  A smooth way to build dynamics naturally across each bar
✅  Tips on muting the low string for better tone control
✅  Why these tricks instantly make your strumming feel more confident and musical

Want More Techniques Like These? 

This is just a small preview of what you’ll find in the full Secrets of Expressive Strumming course.

Whether you’ve been playing for 10 or 20 years — or just want to finally get past that “beginner strumming feel” — this course gives you a clear, step-by-step way to transform your rhythm playing.


Unlock the Full Course Now »

The Key To All The Note Names


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Tips For Memorizing The Fretboard

The string names on your guitar are E-A-D-G-B-E.

Some fun acronyms you can use to remember this are:

Eddie Ate Dynamite Good Bye Eddie
Eat All Day Get Big Easy
Eat A
Dog, Get Big Ears

Personally I just remember the letter names as is, there aren’t really that many of them.

As I said in the video, download the empty fretboard diagram above, and fill it out completely. Practice doing this once per day until you know it. I’m sure it won’t take you more than a few days before you start getting the hang of it!

As you become more familiar with the fretboard, start looking for patterns. For example, circle all the times ‘A’ appears, and see if you can see the pattern. Starting on the sixth string, you simply go up two strings and two frets, and you’ll see the octave. That pattern holds true all across the fretboard, except on the B string. What other patterns can you find?

Comments or questions are welcome – just leave one below!

DTB Bonus: Putting It Into Action

In this bonus lesson we’ll take a look at a cool chord progression and how we can apply that to both the guitar and the bass.

Please make sure you’ve checked out the lessons on stacking thirds as well as using compound intervals, and that you have gone through the entire Decoding the Bass lesson.

The chord progression we’re using here is C#m, A, E, B.

DTB Bonus: Compound Intervals (1-8-3 Pattern)

Here’s a cool bonus for you bass players who really want to fill things out and make your playing sound fatter and more melodic. In this lesson we’ll discuss compound intervals and how you can play them on the bass. These give a real chordal kind of sound, even though they’re not true chords. They can be played all together at once, like you would a chord, or, you can use them as the foundation for riffs and fills and all kinds of other fun and interesting things. Once you start approaching the bass on the basis of chord intervals, things really start opening up!

DTB Bonus: Stacking Thirds (Playing Chords)

In this bonus lesson, we’ll look at some ways that you can play chords on the bass. Once you get the hang of this, it can add a lot of depth and color to your playing, and it’s fun to do as well. If you’re in a three piece band, or another situation where there is a lot of room, this sort of playing can really help beef up the song. Specifically, we’re looking at ways to stack major and minor thirds on top of each other, in order to produce chords.

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