strumming how do you do it/how to learn?

racefaceec90

am not a good guitarist i will say but i am especially awful at anything strumming related (it sounds like a rusty saw blade tbh).

have tried loosening my pick, trying to strum smoother, using less pick end etc but i just cannot get a smooth strumming action.

any advice would be most welcome. 

viz

Try holding your left hand loosely so you dampen all the strings and just concentrate on strumming. Relax the wrist and the elbow. 

Sporky

I found using a really, really flexible - downright floppy - plectrum helped develop the relaxed wrist needed. 

Lestratcaster

You kinda don't want too much of the tip of the plectrum showing, and don't overgrip too hard. A relaxed wrist is key.

Also playing along to a drum track, metronome or the original recording will help, as the right hand will now start reflecting what the various parts of the drum kit is doing. I.e the downstrums generally on the bass drum on beats 1+2 and snare hits on 2 + 4.

CaseOfAce

Don't use too thick a pick - for electric I use those grey .88mm dunlop ones (.73mm for acoustic) - now is not the time to start using Jazz 3's.

And er.. other than that - just do it... start simply - downstrokes only at first - in time - with a 3 chord song.
Then slowly introduce upstrokes...
and err. that 's it..? Practice, practice, practice.

I know somebody else on here was asking about strumming patterns... which are sort of helpful in the first month or so but after that ... you've just got to start using the force Master Luke... it sort of just comes naturally.

Caffeine_Vampire

The golden rule of strumming is 'better to be slow and in time than fast and out of time'. Strum to the speed of your slowest chord change, you'll get faster in time. As others have said, relax the wrist and hold the guitar straight against the body, not at the angle a lot of beginners hold it at in order to see what their fingers are doing. Be patient, it'll come. Good luck

greejn

What CaseofAce said, I use the same picks for strumming. Really you need to sit in with other players more than anything else!

GoFish

Echoing the above, use a thin plectrum to start. Is this acoustic or electric? Perhaps even start with just your hand to get the wrist motions right. That's easier on a nylon string guitar, but possible on any.

This is differnt to the fuller arm strokes used in some electric guitar contexts, but I don't think of that as "strumming" per se.

HAL9000

Have you tried strumming without a pick? I find using the backs of my fingers (on downstrokes) and my thumbnail (on upstrokes) gives me more control than I ever managed using a pick.

BillDL

While listening to various styles of music try "strumming" with your fingers and thumb (as suggested by HAL9000) or with a pick on your thigh against your trousers, on the arm of your chair, or anything that happens to be around.  Don't do this while sitting in a car at the lights or it might look odd to others who can't immediately see what you are doing with your hand.  Try meantime to forget any down-up-up-down-down, etc patterns you may have been trying to learn and just concentrate on the way you FEEL that you would imagine a guitar strumming in time to the music and keep your hand flexible and moving, even if you are leaving a gap in the strums.

When you have the guitar in your hands try to avoid hitting all of the strings with every strum, whether up or down.  The secret to getting a good strum sound is by concentrating your strums on a selection of strings, for example two or three bass strings on a downstroke and grazing just the three treble ones on the upstrokes.  The song obviously dictates how you accentuate the strums.  Unless you are actually trying to nail a song exactly as played there are no real rules for patterns when strumming the chords.  It's more of a feel thing, like feeling the flow in slower songs and feeling the chunk of the rhythm in faster songs, hence my suggestion of strumming to music on anything when you don't have the guitar in your hands.

Strumming through chord changes is made more difficult if you are trying to concentrate too much on strumming patterns.  While you are practicing your strumming just keep strumming even if you fluff the chord changes a bit.  Your coordination will eventually come together once your strumming becomes more fluid and instinctive.

Keep your strumming hand moving in a fluid motion.  For example, if you are playing a pattern where you do a wide and long strum down, then miss an up-strum beat to strum down again, move your hand up in the same kind of motion you would use if you were adding an up-strum rather than jerking your hand up ready for the next down strum.  Fluidity with your hand movements will help you keep time.

racefaceec90

thanks for all the tips i will definitely be trying them :-)

Tannin

Damn it, I want to wiz that excellent post from @BillDL but I already laughed at his in-car advice, and I can't do both.

BillDL

BlueStrat

Justin Guitar does a great instructional video to strumming, it’s on his channel and you can buy the dvd. He covers the techniques, timings, accents etc

ditchboy

I was just about to ask a question about any specific books or courses people would recommend as my strumming is pish (but has improved). So far I have found counting to help with the rhythm of it but there’s still room for tons of improvement. 

bertie

you need a big black cushion thing that you stick to the top of your guitar, and fasten your arm to it..........................

Mellish

I would echo starting with a thin, flexible pick. And get a metronome. Relax your strumming arm. When trying to nail some technique we always seem to tense up  

Stratavarious

Super light plectrum is the trick.. don't overthink it.  

Focus on other hand.

Just keep the arm moving in time and let the fretting hand damping control the rhythm pattern 

Fuengi

For me, what really, really helped was using a rhythm ring shaker to practice.

I found that it took my mind off trying to strum and just focussed on the rhythm. The strumming just fell onto place after that. 

PAL

When walking along the street we don't think about how we do it ! We can walk fast or stroll we just do it.
 Rhythm/Strumming is similar if you think too much about it too much it's difficult ! So just do it so it feels natural .You will get 
 there. Also if a pick is too heavy it can make it difficult because if you took the pick away it's easier because you have direct contact with the string of your guitar and it's the pick that stops that connection with the guitar.
Also i like many guitarist use the side of the pick and not the point. I also don't use too much of the pick so it's like hybrid type of thing. The main thing is find something that works for you.Also play with other people soon you will just forget about how to do it and do it without thinking just like walking. Hope this helps. 

ditchboy

ditchboy said:

I was just about to ask a question about any specific books or courses people would recommend as my strumming is pish (but has improved). So far I have found counting to help with the rhythm of it but there’s still room for tons of improvement. 

Anyone. It’s the one thing that bugs me about guitar. My strumming is shit and I can’t hold onto a puck unless it’s a max grip type of one. Can’t strum anything heavier than .73 either. Got to be a technique issue. I’m not usually this bad at anything.