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- Strum Pattern #1 Downstrum on every beat. When strumming a guitar, you’ll use both downstrums (i.e. where your strumming hand moves down) and upstrums (where your strumming hand moves back up).
- Strum Pattern #2 Adding two upstrums. Now that you’ve gotten a basic feel for this strumming thing, the next step is to start adding some upstrums. Here’s a pattern that's similar to the first pattern we saw, but with two upstrums added in.
- Strum Pattern #3 Adding three upstrums. This next pattern is similar to the last one. We'll add in just one more upstrum. See if you can hear it in this song.
- Strum Pattern #4 Downstrum on the downbeat, Upstrum on the upbeat. You might have noticed a certain logic in when we’re playing downstrums and when we’re playing upstrums: all the downstrums are on what we call ’the downbeat’: on the 1, 2, 3 or 4.
When strumming downstokes you should aim to strum all of the strings that the chord requires (4, 5 or 6 strings). When strumming upstrokes you only need to strum the first 2 or 3 strings. (The thinnest strings.) If you strum upstrokes the same way you strum downstrokes your playing will sound very severe and robotic.
- Playing in Time vs. Locking to A Groove
- Active Listening
- Strum Rhythm Basics
- Strum Down Or Strum Up?
- The Power of Dynamics
- Other Considerations
- Recommended Further Reading
When you are first developing your sense of rhythm, you are spending a lot of time working with a metronome. Since you are human, your timing has a natural tendency to fluctuate. You might drag or you might rush. Your speed may increase and decrease at different rates throughout an entire piece of music. Generally speaking, if you can get to some b...
As a guitar player, your first instinct is to pick up your guitar and try to mimic what you hear the guitar doing in the song you are trying to learn. I’m here to tell you that is not step one. Yes, listen to the guitar, but listen to what else is going on with it. If it is a recording with a full band, listen to the other elements – drums, bass, s...
Learning basic rhythm notation is very easy. You don’t need to bother with learning note values, fancy symbols, long Italian words, or anything like that. Instead, you are just learning the time values. If you want to go deeper you can, but you can get very far by just learning the basics. Start with learning time signatures. A Time Signatureis the...
Most people can get the down strum pretty easily. After all, you are just going with gravity. Strumming up is usually more difficult to control, even more so when you are needing to evenly space your strums. The up and down motion of a typical rhythm needs to be even, as opposed to speeding up or slowing down your strumming arm when you reverse dir...
The next step is to improve your rhythms with dynamics. Think about the way you speak. Your voice goes up and down, it gets louder and softer, you use inflection on certain words or phrases. The way you strum should be no different. The manipulation of dynamics will give life to your strumming and is absolutely essential to grooving. Take the first...
Other than the way you physically approach the playing of your guitar, there are few other factors to be aware of. One of those is the natural tone your guitar has. If it is a smaller guitar, it might only get so loud. Your guitar might be thin-waisted and not have as much bellowing low end as a fatter jumbo guitar. There are no doubt qualities of ...
If you enjoyed this article then I would recommend reading the following: 1. 7 Best Beginner Strumming Patterns 2. 7 Best Intermediate Strumming Patterns 3. 7 Best Advanced Strumming Patterns
- Angle Your Pick. If you hold your pick perpendicular to the ground, your strumming will sound too aggressive and awkward. You should angle the pick so the tip points toward your chest on down strums and toward your feet on up strums.
- Strum From The Wrist. Many beginners think strumming is all in your elbow, but it’s not. If you move only your elbow and not your wrist, you’ll look and sound like a robot playing guitar.
- Slow It Down…Way Down. Start slow. You don’t need to play as fast as the fastest guitarist in the world. Don’t even think about it (unless you’re curious, in which case you can watch him play at 2,000 BPM).
- Keep Your Right Hand Moving. One thing I notice with new guitarists is their strumming hand will stop and start like their in a strobe light. That’s incorrect and will make your strumming sound forced.
Nov 8, 2022 · There’s not just one way to strum a guitar correctly. It depends on the song and your playing style (and perhaps how you wear your guitar strap). But there are some rules you should follow in order to make your strumming sound natural. How to Strum a Guitar Easily and Smoothly
Aug 6, 2019 · Below, I’ll show you how to strum a guitar so you can start building strength and confidence in your strumming hand. I’ll also share a simple rule that will get you strumming along to almost any song – if you can count to four, that’s all you need.
People also ask
Should You Strum down or up?
When should you Strum down or up on a guitar?
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May 19, 2022 · You can strum the guitar four times, change chords, strum another four, etc. This will also help you with your chord transitions. 2. Down Up Down Up. Another simple one. Once you’ve mastered the single strums with downstrokes, try adding upward strums too. Just to familiarize yourself with them.
