Question: Guitar help, again?

Question

I'm teaching myself how to get guitar and please don't complain about getting a teacher because believe me if I could I would.

When I find any problems I usually come to Y!A to ask, here's my question:

http://s534.photobucket.com/albums/ee342/ValerieIAm/?action=view&current=Capture-1.jpg

How do I play this note?

Is it one downstroke and the other upstroke, or because of this Open sign do I play them both downstrokes?

Thank you!

Answer 1

if you read tablature its a lot easier

Answer 2

The sign on the note is a "natural" sign, which means you play the note without sharps or flats.  So if the song is in the key of E, and the first note is a D#, the second note is a D.

Playing an upstroke or downstroke is your choice, depending on what kind of sound you are going for, as long as you play the notes in time, but most teachers recommend that beginners practice alternate picking (up down up down).