Sirocco – Mini Lesson: 032

Helpful Tips

Hone your strumming technique with this exotic-sounding etude inspired by Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir.” This piece is called Sirocco, named after the hot, dusty wind that blows from North Africa across the Mediterranean into southern Europe.

What gives Sirocco its exotic flair is the use of tense, heavy-sounding chords paired with a driving, hypnotic rhythm. From a playing standpoint, you’ll primarily use traditional down and up strumming, along with the triplet strum. If you need a recap on how to do the triplet strum technique, jump into this lesson.

You can also experiment with dynamics. For example, listen to how Matt builds intensity with a crescendo in bars 13-16. If you’re unfamiliar with dynamics, check out mini lesson #8, which serves as a great intro for this concept.

Performance & Free Lesson

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