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In this week’s lesson I’ll answer a question about combining strumming with walking basslines — using Bob Dylan’s classic Blowin’ in the Wind as an example. This will help you capture the distinctive guitar sound Dylan is using during the chorus, which goes a long way in elevating a 3-chord song. And of course, you can use this technique in plenty of other songs & situations – so it’s absolutely one worth getting the hang of.
I should note, this is not a tutorial for the full song! Rather, in answering the question sent in by Song Notes member Michel, I show exactly how I integrate walking basslines into the strumming of the chorus section. This may not be the exact notes Dylan plays, but it captures the essence of the song all the way.
Update: On February 5, 2025 I added two new videos (below) showing how to strum the verse & chorus sections, with and without the bass-note strumming. Both these videos use the Key of C chords I teach in my main lesson above. Watch those if your goal is to strum the full song.
- 0:00 Overview
- 1:06 Chords, Progression & Strumming
- 3:41 Bassline Tab (Key of C chords)
- 9:41 Bassline Tab (Key of D chords)
Quick Links
Practice Notes 3 pages
Lesson Discussion
Bouncing Bassline Exercises
If you’re interested in practicing the “bouncing basslines” I demonstrate in my main tutorial, these videos show zoomed playthroughs in the two different keys I teach. As I describe in my main lesson, the Key of D approach is much trickier — and likely not practical if you’re singing the song at the same time. But — it may well be worth practicing, if you want to work on either your strumming or triad shapes.
Exercise Playthrough (Key of C)
Exercise Playthrough (Key of D)
Strumming the Full Song
If you’re interested in playing the complete song, with or without the bouncing basslines — check these out! I play through a verse and chorus using two different strumming approaches.
The first is a simplified approach, where I’m using a basic strumming pattern that does not rely on bass-note strumming at all. The second shows the “full” approach where I use the bass-note strumming for the entire verse and chorus sections.
Both of these videos use the Key of C approach from my main tutorial, which is my preference for playing this song (capo 2nd fret). See my practice notes for tabs!
Easy Strum (No Bass Notes)
Full Strum (with Bass Notes)
Listen to Bob Dylan’s Version
Here’s Bob Dylan’s album recording of Blowin’ in the Wind:
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