Why is strumming on an acoustic guitar so difficult?

[SunnyDee]

Originally Posted by S_Spruce

My spruce-top guitar is bright enough as it is. I am afraid it will be excessively brittle if I switched to lights.

Yes, barre chords kill... Getting that G string to lay to fret is a hell ride.

Maybe straighten your finger more than press with your hand. Works for me.

[SunnyDee]

Originally Posted by rokdog49

Even though I have relatively small hands ( 8" tip of thumb to tip of pinkie) I can wrap my thumb for bass notes on most of the chords that use that technique. Only one of my four acoustics has a neck that makes that a little tough.

How? Maybe this is too off topic? But, if not, can you wrap your thumb while still playing on your fingertips? I can't figure that out. Do you have a pic? Of say D/F#?

[StevenL]

I don't remember strumming ever being that difficult, but then, I don't remember too much anyway. Most of it just kinda came natural to me, without much grueling about it. When I was first getting into learning and playing, the fascination of the magic of actually creating musical sounds was so strong, the pain was just a distant experience. I suspect that the experience of trying to learn to play without that overwhelming 'magic' feeling could just turn into a sort of painful monotony pretty quickly. Would have given it up without it. I still get the 'magic' when I get into the zone, probably will till croak time.

[Rosewood99]

Sorry to say I never had that problem. I use a 1.1 Gravity pick. For strumming without a pick it took me about a month of real pain to get my callouses good and tough. 8 years later and I have never had a problem.

No pain, no gain.

[Sonics]

The secrets of smooth strumming are you always strike ALL 6 strings...but you'll need to master these techniques, which will also clean-up your sound.





You also need a soft pick which will even-out your sound both in dynamics and frequencies. The thin Gibson wedge type picks works well...

[fazool]

amy_fb recently posted a thread called "how to avoid injuries" which linked an article from Classical Guitar Magazine (I think it was).

In that, the author/expert explained that your muscles clench against each other.

Do this:

Squeeze your hand as hard as you can and make an angry fist. Easy, right?

OK, now do this:

do the same thing while leaving your fingers open and loose...clench your arm muscles HARD.

OK, what happened is your extensor muscles and your flexor (contracting) muscles were fighting against each other.

You can do that all day on any part of your body and if you are doing it subconsciously it creates that pain and fatigue that is not normal.

[windfall]

Originally Posted by Johnny.guitar

I switched over to large triangle picks as opposed to those little jazz picks.
Much better for strumming.
My favourite at the moment is a Blue Chip CT 55.
They don't slip, they don't wear and it just glides over the stings.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I found things much easier also when I found picks like these.... I.e. Large triangle. I like the Jim Dunlop Tortex ones.

[HFox]

The best thing that ever happened to my guitar playing was ...breaking my neck20 years ago while delivering a boat to a local island.
After several surgeries and a year or so of rehab I learned I could not hold a pick... I had lost some tactile sensation in my fingers and could not feel or hold a pick.
I discovered thumb picks and the tops of my fingernails. Along with my first three fingers on my right hand.
I developed a unique style that combines thumb picking as my bass and my fingers as some fill and then a combo of thumb pick and tops of fingers for strumming.
As I was in a collar and a halo I could not sit and bend over the guitar so I had to learn to play standing with a strap and I could not twist my neck to look at the fingerboard.
My barre chords got better and my rhythm relocated in my thumb and my wrist.
Don't get me wrong.....I'm just a mediocre player...but I can play in my own style.
I read a lot here about folks wanting to get rid of their Dreads and buying smaller sized instruments....I think if you have to ,and want to ,you adapt your style to the small aches and pains that we all have as we get older....don't change your guitar ....change your style
LIFE IS A JOURNEY.... NOT A GUIDED TOUR !

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by SunnyDee

How? Maybe this is too off topic? But, if not, can you wrap your thumb while still playing on your fingertips? I can't figure that out. Do you have a pic? Of say D/F#?

Yes, I can. I also play the three-finger "A" shape with the A root note thumbed on the fifth fret but I use my index finger and barre' the bottom four strings, muting the fifth string. Makes a great alternative to an A minor. It's an Am 13 or something and you can move it up the neck. Sounds sweet.
Back to the D/F# .....
If you angle your thumb properly, you can catch the F# enough right at the second fret. It's a matter of flexibility and practice, but you can do it. It's used typically as a walk up from Em to D/F to G to A or some other chord and in reverse as a walk down for a lot of songs as you may already know.

If I think about it, I'll try to remember to post a pic. Maybe PM me to remind me.

[Glennwillow]

Hi S Spruce,

It's easy to do something once you have figured it out. But before that, it was pretty tough.

I think you might need to find an instructor for at least a while to help you figure out how to deal with some of the issues you have mentioned.

Regarding fatigue after playing a couple of songs, that sounds like you are using too hard a grip on the guitar strings and fretboard. Your guitar may need a setup so that it's less difficult to play, but even if your guitar is set up perfectly, you can still be gripping the neck and fretboard too hard and tiring yourself out. An instructor who is good could help you learn how to play with a little less of a death grip.

Regarding your finger tips hurting, Rock Tips may help. https://www.amazon.com/Rock-Tips-Liq...allous+formula This stuff helps me on occasion when my finger tips start really hurting right through my calluses, and I have been playing for 53 years.

Using a flat pick is a skill you can learn, but again, a good teacher can help you learn how to do this with less frustration, I think. I am sure you can find some YouTube videos on how to strum, but there is nothing like a live person to help you with immediate feedback.

When I was learning to play with a flat pick, I didn't try to hold the strings down at all with my left hand for a lot of my practicing. I just worked on my right hand with that flat pick going across the strings, trying to get an even sound and an even rhythm at an even tempo. Flexing your wrist can help and experimenting with a variety of flat picks and thicknesses can help. Sometimes it takes a solid week or two on one technique just to start getting a handle on how something is done.

In the end, a lot of work and practice can help immensely, but still, if you had someone knowledgeable to help you work through some of the bumps in the road, it could speed things up quite a bit and make this whole affair less frustrating. An instructor who works at a music store will have access to lots of flat picks and if he/she has worked with a lot of players, will have a good understanding of how to help you work through these things.

Best of luck.

- Glenn

[muscmp]

you have to work at it. practice!

play music!

[oldgitplayer]

I was surprised at your comment that you find strumming tiring. I suspect the cause may be a combination of your wrist and arm action. If they are stiff, they will tire quickly.

I've been a rhythm player for nearly 50 years now and right from the start had to play 4 hour gigs for a few nights in a row. I think the reason I have never experienced the problem you are having is because the arm and wrist combination have been loose and relaxed.

Also, unless I'm playing lead, I use very thin and flexible picks for rhythm. For some pieces I don't use a pick and my fingernails 'brush' the strings.

Anyway, I think your problem is fixable. Experiment, and perhaps find a more relaxed strumming method.

[Johan Madsen]

Originally Posted by rokdog49

I have no issues with strumming at all...just lucky I guess.
Actually I confess I am a natural rhythm guitar player and from my experience around other players, kind of an anomaly.
My left hand gripping ability is very strong.
I use a .88, .96 or 1.0 pick thickness depending on the guitar I'm playing. I also use my fingers and thumb for strumming sometimes.I usually need only a couple of hours per week to maintain my callouses and I have pretty good ones on all four fingers. Even though I have relatively small hands ( 8" tip of thumb to tip of pinkie) I can wrap my thumb for bass notes on most of the chords that use that technique. Only one of my four acoustics has a neck that makes that a little tough.
Now flat-picking, I can do that ok but not quickly. I usually do a lot of arpeggios which I can also do pretty easily and some cross-picking on slower songs and finger picking chords.

It seems a lot of you folks are finger style pickers or speed flat pickers. That explains a lot.
You just don't strum that much.
Incidentally, the video Johan posted is excellent. You gotta' keep that wrist loose and moving even when your not touching the strings. And he is absolutely spot on... It shouldn't hurt that much when you press on the strings. Good job Johan!

Thank you Rokdog, I agree with you that there are certainly many fingerstyle and flat pickers on this forum

amy_fb recently posted a thread called "how to avoid injuries" which linked an article from Classical Guitar Magazine (I think it was).

In that, the author/expert explained that your muscles clench against each other.

Do this:

Squeeze your hand as hard as you can and make an angry fist. Easy, right?

OK, now do this:

do the same thing while leaving your fingers open and loose...clench your arm muscles HARD.

OK, what happened is your extensor muscles and your flexor (contracting) muscles were fighting against each other.

You can do that all day on any part of your body and if you are doing it subconsciously it creates that pain and fatigue that is not normal.

Very interesting, is there any link somewhere ?


Concerning the pick I think it's a good habit to only let the tip of the pick protruding, it doesn't matter if the fingers touch the strings while picking, it warms up the sound and allow for a smooth contact with the strings, it also helps for better accuracy (let's take an excessive example: imagine trying to hit the right string with a 20 inch long pick, not an easy task isn't it? Shorter tip = more accuracy ). I would also avoid picks with grip as you'll need to reposition the pick depending on what you play , the grip make pick repositioning difficult. A thick pick is the way to go in my opinion for two reasons, the first one being that you won't get that plastic sound, the other one being that you'll learn to control the dynamic with your wrist, grip, pick angle and so on, which will help you to develop a better technique. But that's only my humble opinion.

[rogthefrog]

Originally Posted by Charmed Life Picks

electrics sound great with .50-.60 mm.

Did you mean to type "sound terrible"?

[rokdog49]

Again I agree with Johan on all counts.
I used to use thin picks because it was easier. It's also lazy and won't help you with good technique. Strumming is an art just like flat picking or finger picking. You can learn to "light strum" with a heavier pick. If I can, anyone can.
His point about plasticky pick noise is also valid. A thicker pick will give you more definition and volume and a lot less noise. I also change the position of the pick at times for different sounds. Lastly I use only the tip of my pick as well. Better control.
It's pretty interesting and rewarding to have someone validate what you believe to be effective.

Addendum: If you can do the acoustic strumming pattern to the Eagles "Tequila Sunrise" exactly the way it's done on the record, you're a pretty decent strummer. It ain't as easy as you might think.