The Acoustic Guitar Forum

Go Back   The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > PLAY and Write

Reply
 
Thread Tools
  #16  
Old 05-05-2021, 11:02 AM
nightchef nightchef is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Boston
Posts: 589
Default

As others have said, for me it's a hybrid motion. Basically the overall back-and-forth movement -- the foundation of the strum, so to speak -- is a forearm motion and comes from the elbow, but the actual plucking of the strings is a hand motion and comes from the wrist. I don't think about how those two levels of motion coordinate, it just happens.

I remember in college going to a bluegrass guitar clinic -- I wasn't a bluegrass player, and I'm still not one, but I was curious -- and the instructor advocated an all-elbow, locked-wrist motion. I tried it for a while and said "nope". There was a lot of power available there, but no nuance. It felt like playing with gorilla mitts.
__________________
Martin HD-28
Eastman E10OM
Guild D50
Martin D12X1AE
LaPatrie CW Concert

Last edited by nightchef; 05-05-2021 at 11:14 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #17  
Old 05-05-2021, 12:38 PM
Pattern Pattern is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2020
Posts: 78
Default

I couldn’t help but smile when I saw this thread. I’m 6-7 months into learning but I remember the very first YouTube video I watched after I bought a guitar. the guy said to swing your forearm and keep your wrist locked. The analogy he used was that your forearm should be like a piece of wood with a nail (the pick) sticking out the side, that felt awkward but so did everything at that time.

The very next beginner acoustic video I found said “don’t be this guy” and showed a forearm going up and down. This dude said use your wrist. I was like ...

As most have mentioned here I eventually ended up in the middle, though I’m still learning and finding my way. When I’m strumming nylon strings I usually go pretty hard and use mostly forearm with wrist flicks for accent. Songs that have single note licks mixed in I usually end up using mostly wrist with slight forearm movement just so I’m always in the right area.
Reply With Quote
  #18  
Old 05-05-2021, 02:48 PM
Mandobart Mandobart is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Washington State
Posts: 5,424
Default

Since I do a lot of flatpicking for bluegrass and gypsy jazz I focus more on wrist motion.

I don't know anyone that flatpicks well using just the elbow. Since so many songs call for strummed accompaniment with flatpicked leads and fills, I just stick with the wrist.
Reply With Quote
  #19  
Old 05-09-2021, 08:33 PM
biotechmgr biotechmgr is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania
Posts: 438
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by JonPR View Post
Generally speaking - at medium tempos anyway - it's both. The main movement is from the elbow, with the wrist adding some extra movement - a kind of flick on the end. I liken the move to shaking water off your fingers, or hammering a nail in. The combine movement of elbow and wrist is simply the most natural and efficient method.
The weight of the forearm moving in a wide arc helps keep the beat steady due to inertia and momentum; while the flick of the wrist at the end adds extra attack when necessary. Strumming just from the wrist is much less steady. (It's one of the hardest things I find to teach beginners: to relax the arm and wrist and swing from the elbow.)

But things get different at different tempos. As the tempo speeds up, the movement becomes much more focused on the wrist, because it's too difficult - and too wasteful of energy - to move the whole forearm that fast.

There's also a more complex, combined movement involved at slower tempos, where one downstroke per beat feels uncomfortably slow. The tendency then is to speed up, to make the strumming action more comfortable. To keep the tempo down (as the bpm drops below 90 or so), players tend to double up the downstrokes, with a smaller downstroke on the 8ths between the beats, which can feel like a bounce at the bottom of the main stroke.
Great response and well articulates my feelings about keeping a rhythm and adding that flick.
__________________
Chris

2022 Taylor 714ce, 2020 Martin D-28 Modern Deluxe, 2013 Martin D-16GT, 1980 Yamaha FG-335
Reply With Quote
Reply

  The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > PLAY and Write

Thread Tools





All times are GMT -6. The time now is 12:13 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright ©2000 - 2022, The Acoustic Guitar Forum
vB Ad Management by =RedTyger=