Strumming mechanics - Wrist? Forearm?

[Alex_B]

Hey, everyone.

I've been watching a lot of instructional videos on beginner strumming technique/mechanics, and there seems to be two conflicting schools of thought.

I see "Justin Guitar" lessons recommended all the time, and he seems to advocate keeping your wrist more or less locked in a straight position and bending at the elbow.

See here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5pipuvb-EM

Meanwhile, this other guy makes a good argument for pretty much the exact opposite approach.

See here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhd7YglIN8w

Countless other videos seem to suggest something in between these two.

Which approach did YOU take when learning to strum, and how did it work out?

I appreciate any pointers you can offer.

Thanks,

~Alex

[1neeto]

Originally Posted by Alex_B

Hey, everyone.

I've been watching a lot of instructional videos on beginner strumming technique/mechanics, and there seems to be two conflicting schools of thought.

I see "Justin Guitar" lessons recommended all the time, and he seems to advocate keeping your wrist more or less locked in a straight position and bending at the elbow.

See here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5pipuvb-EM

Meanwhile, this other guy makes a good argument for pretty much the exact opposite approach.

See here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhd7YglIN8w

Countless other videos seem to suggest something in between these two.

Which approach did YOU take when learning to strum, and how did it work out?

I appreciate any pointers you can offer.

Thanks,

~Alex

I do both depending what I’m playing or what kind of guitar I’m playing. If I’m just strumming a dread, then I’ll anchor my forearm on the body and swing my forearm to strum. It just feels natural on a dread. If I’m strumming a small body or electric, I’ll most likely use my wrist because it’s more comfortable, and I can be more dynamic.

[Alex_B]

That makes sense. I guess in the long run it’s best to learn both methods, so maybe it doesn’t matter so much where I start?

[1neeto]

Originally Posted by Alex_B

That makes sense. I guess in the long run it’s best to learn both methods, so maybe it doesn’t matter so much where I start?

Main thing is that you’re relaxed, let your arm or wrist just flow to the beat (your strumming hand is basically your metronome). Keep your strumming hand going up and down even if you’re not hitting strings, that’s how you’ll be able to do some cool rhythm syncopation and make your strumming really interesting and musical.

[DBW]

My in person instructor is an outstanding guitarist. He taught me to use the wrist. This allows for more nuance. I also watch YouTube videos but it really helps me to have a person to teach technique.

[DBW]

I agree- a metronome is vital for tempo. Set it at 85 and go from there.

[DukeX]

For me, the wrist is a big part of my strumming technique, including pick angle and stroke.

[EZYPIKINS]

You ask about wrist, and forearm.
You left out shoulder.
Beat it like a red headed step child.

[Tnfiddler]

I'm a long-time Bluegrass rhythm player and when I first started playing, I used the whole forearm from the elbow down and always wondered why it was hard to keep up on super fast songs. A few years down the road, I had someone tell me to keep my forearm as still as possible and focus on using my wrist as my pivot point. My accuracy and speed were instantly better AND easier. Now when I play country music and it has a totally different strumming style, it's not as easy to play that way, even though I try. Efficiency of motion is the way I look at it, BUT, that being said, try both ways and find out which way YOU'RE comfortable with. We can recommend things that work for us, all day long, but, at the end of that day, you'll be the one playing and what works for us.....well, you know.

[Nymuso]

Wrist. Elbow is there to assist, but never to drive.

[perttime]

Elbow gives you more range of movement and perhaps more force if you want to hit the strings hard, wrist controls more precisely what you are doing.

[musicman1951]

Interesting question, and one that I've never considered.

I tried to lock my wrist and just use arm: that is a strangely robotic feel to me, but makes me wonder about players who can't seem to find the strings and take half the finish off the guitar above and below trying to create power without the wrist.

I suspect if you don't give it much thought and just strum you might end up with a nice balance of both. If not, create your own nice balance of both. Using 100% of either alone seems like madness to me.

Volume/power doesn't come simply from bigger arm muscles, but from the speed of the stroke, and that's where the wrist comes in. At the opposite end, playing more subtly requires more nuance that also utilizes wrist (although not to produce speed).

Unless you're doing Pete Townsend's windmill circles, then go ahead and lock your wrist.

[fumei]

Originally Posted by musicman1951

Interesting question, and one that I've never considered.

I tried to lock my wrist and just use arm: that is a strangely robotic feel to me, but makes me wonder about players who can't seem to find the strings and take half the finish off the guitar above and below trying to create power without the wrist.

I suspect if you don't give it much thought and just strum you might end up with a nice balance of both. If not, create your own nice balance of both. Using 100% of either alone seems like madness to me.

Volume/power doesn't come simply from bigger arm muscles, but from the speed of the stroke, and that's where the wrist comes in. At the opposite end, playing more subtly requires more nuance that also utilizes wrist (although not to produce speed).

Unless you're doing Pete Townsend's windmill circles, then go ahead and lock your wrist.

I agree with the emphasis. Madness. On the other hand sometimes madness is the appropriate thing. Which brings me to my opinion...

It depends. Some pieces call for this, some call for that, some call for this AND that in the same piece. Learn everything! Be open to change. TRY everything. I think restricting yourself to any one way/method is the true madness.

[rllink]

My teacher keeps telling me more wrist, less elbow. That doesn't mean no elbow, it just means I put too much elbow into it and need to do more wrist action. Regardless, I usually do what sounds best and feels best, not what someone tells me I should do and I like the sound better if I just strum mostly from the wrist.

[JonPR]

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.