Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange
Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [strumming]

Strumming is way of playing a stringed instrument such as a guitar. A strum or stroke is a sweeping action where a fingernail or plectrum brushes past several strings in order to set them all into motion and thereby play a chord.

In music, strumming is way of playing a stringed instrument such as a guitar. A strum or stroke is a sweeping action where a fingernail or plectrum brushes past several strings in order to set them all into motion and thereby play a chord. Strums are executed by the dominant hand, right for a right-handed musician and left for a left handed one, while the other hand holds down notes on the fretboard. Strums are contrasted with plucking, as means of activating strings into audible vibration, because in plucking, only one string is activated by a surface at a time.

(from Wikipedia)

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Why does string strummed with finger sound different from the one strummed with pick?

What is the physical reason for difference in sound when using fingers instead of pick and vice versa?
zduny
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Lots of pick movement

I have always had trouble controlling pick movement while strumming. Gripping tighter on a pick causes tension in my playing and I am wondering if anyone has some tips for me? Picks have always felt slippery to me even the ones that have rubber…
oregonduckman
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Struggling with strumming patterns

After practicing some elementary strumming patterns, I still can't get to develop any muscle-memory for it. I seem to be able to play short duration of rhythm that appeals to my mind, and perhaps even close resemblances of a song playing in my head,…
bdutta74
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Learning to play guitar songs using on-line tabs - how to get strum patterns?

I am a relatively new guitarist and have been using online tabs such as this one: http://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/b/beatles/let_it_be_crd.htm to learn how to play new songs. While those tabs provide the chords, the vast majority do not provide the…
Alekxos
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Right hand technique used in gypsy jazz guitar

I want to learn the right hand technique used by gypsy guitar, especially that of joscho stephan. His arm is perfectly still but the hand is moving so fast, how is he doing that? Any tips on how to develop such strumming? Specifically, here is a…
Nitin Labhishetty
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What could be the use of this rubber band on strumming hand?

Having a close look at Kerry King's strumming hand on this picture from Wikipedia : Why has he a rubber band "pinching" his thumb, index and middle finger ?
mathieu
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Strumming, picking patterns for unusual time signatures

If the time signature is 8/8 or 4/4 and let's say we have 8 eighth notes in a bar the picking should just be down up down up down up, etc. But what happens if we have 7/8? Particularly in the next bar. After we play the first bar the 7th eighth note…
pktc
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How do you sing and strum guitar chords simultaneously?

In my experience with the guitar, I think I do best with strumming. But it's always difficult for me when I have try to keep singing while strumming. How can I learn to do both?
Sakares
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Guitar Strumming and the High E string

I'm relatively new to playing guitar and I am currently learning on an acoustic. I am adding strumming to my skillset at the moment (as there's only so far downstrokes can take me), but I'm having a particular problem with this. The high E and B…
Matthew Iselin
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How to play chords on full fingerboard without looking?

Are there any secrets behind learning to play chords on full fingerboard without looking at fretting hand (except that practice is the key)? Maybe some exercises?
Kudayar Pirimbaev
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What are the reasons for using strumming and picking patterns?

From what i can tell so far, STRUMMING patterns are for two things, making sure the right beats are accented (because on the up strokes, youre only supposed to hit two strings) and keeping track of quarter and eighth notes (because the down strokes…
vens
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Strumming along low BPM song

I am fairly comfortable strumming along a song with 80 or more BPM, however for songs lower that I struggle to keep up. How should I practice?
Cheruiyot A Kirui
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Is there a hidden triplet here, as the notes seem to indicate 9/8 but the time signature is 4/4?

I found this strumming in a book which confused me a lot: It seems it has 9/8 but states clearly that it should have 4/4. I tried to figure it out and stumbled over triplets. So my guess is it has a hidden triplet? I would appreciate a pointer in…
Wagawonga
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On Which Beat Should I Do Down Strokes?

While practicing the DDUUD strumming pattern (on an acoustic guitar) with a metronome (set at 60 BPM) with 4/4 time, I'm confused on which beat should I play the up strokes. What I'm currently doing is: Down Down Up nothing Up Down Is this…
defunct-user
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How to strum without hitting the body with the pick?

I play the acoustic guitar. I've noticed a problem with my strumming. I tend to hit the body of the guitar too much when I'm strumming with the pick. It's not very noticeable when I'm not recording. But in recordings it's very noticeable. How can I…
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