The Lost Art of. . . Strumming?

[jaymarsch]

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

Strumming well is an artform, just like good finger picking.

In the music I listen to, there is plenty of good rhythm strumming playing, but I am certainly not listening to mainstream stuff from the radio. The only thing I use the radio for is picking up the news off NPR.

- Glenn

Totally agree. I am becoming a better strummer with some practice but it is still an area that I would love to improve on. I appreciate folks who can do a nice combination of strumming and picking in a song. Here is a nicely done accompaniment from Rodney Crowell's latest CD.



Best,
Jayne

[rstaight]

Originally Posted by vindibona1

I think I agree as well. I think "Rhythm" guitar by many is thought of as more or less chords underneath melody and the forgotten factor is the RHYTHM and needs to be approached more like percussion rather than simply accompaniment like you'd think of keyboards (most of the time anyway). I think there is a great advantage in strumming for someone who has had experience playing drums or percussion- even if it's just beating on coffee cans.

I think there is little more exasperating than playing in a group where the guy playing rhythm does nothing more than mindless strumming. It's like someone talking in a monotone.

I was a percussionist in high school so totally understand the analogy. When picking a melody and someone says oh that's ****. I say thanks for listening. But when I am strumming and someone ask is that ***. That is it for me. It tells I am doing something right and we may have a ten minute conversation when I finish.

[guitar george]

After reading all these posts I might stop referring to myself as being "just a strummer".

[Rosewood99]

I disagree with the premise. Avett brothers, Mumford and Sons, Ed Sheeran, Jack Johnson and Jake Bugg off the top of my head are pretty good strummers.

[Heroditus]

You beat me to it. I was gonna point out that Ed Sheeran is very much a strummer, and a very good one in the sense that it compliments his style of songwriting very well. The Avetts and Marcus Mumford also are good examples of that. I would add Brandi Carlile and Abner from Johnnyswim to that list as well.

[Tnfiddler]

I'm a die-hard rhythm player and LOVE it!! I've gotten way more serious about pull-offs, hammer-ons and little runs to give it flavor, but I really enjoy playing rhythm. My wife doesn't understand why I like playing the same notes over and over but she's not a musician and doesn't understand that in a driving bluegrass song, I'm the foundation it rests on! I'm trying to learn flat-picking but it's not as much fun to me.

[vindibona1]

Originally Posted by jaymarsch

Totally agree. I am becoming a better strummer with some practice but it is still an area that I would love to improve on. I appreciate folks who can do a nice combination of strumming and picking in a song. Here is a nicely done accompaniment from Rodney Crowell's latest CD.



Best,
Jayne

I love everything about this video. Which guitar is he playing. Great sound! Thanks for sharing.

[Woolbury]

I'm much more of a fingerpicker, but consider myself a solid strummer also. At the same time, I consider myself a rhythmic simpleton, I have a certain rhythmic style and push all my tunes through it. I was at an open mic backing a guy up on leads, and during the tune we were playing he turned to me and whispered to just hit the one beat with downstrokes. it was so simple, yet so effective, and really accentuated the rest of the song. How to expand beyond what comes natural is what make music interesting to me.

[jaymarsch]

Originally Posted by vindibona1

I love everything about this video. Which guitar is he playing. Great sound! Thanks for sharing.

That is his 1932 L-00. I think he also has a '37 14 fret L-00 but the '32 is one of his favorite guitars and he has used it on quite a number of his songs over the years.

Best,
Jayne

[SongwriterFan]

. . . . . . . . . . .

[Long Road Home]

Once upon a time, I called myself "just a strummer". A while back, someone came up to me after a set and complimented me on my rhythm guitar playing, which changed how I see myself. It comes naturally to me, while I take to fingerstyle and picking like a cat takes to water.

[Stratcat77]

Good post topic! I love the sound of a well strummed acoustic! And I agree that this can take more work to do well than some realize. An example of one that technique makes or breaks it is Listen to the Music - Doobies (yeah, I'm a classic rock guy...). We used to do that one in a band where I played the intro on an acoustic. I've heard people play that one just strumming away at the intro part but with no muting and dynamics and it just loses the magic. Played well, it immediately grabs everyone!

One of the things I love about playing acoustic is how different the dynamics and percussive elements are (vs an electric). I do approach some things on my acoustic like I might play on an electric, but to me, it doesn't always work well the other way around. It's sort of like the difference in an acoustic piano vs a keyboard. You can play "keyboard stuff" on an acoustic piano and it can still sound good, but not always the other way around.

I used to play with a guy in a band who strummed his electric like he was strumming an acoustic. Drove me crazy! Ha ha. Just sounded out of control.

[Silly Moustache]

This might be helpful to some :

[Pura Vida]

Glad to join this "rhythm guitar" love fest! I am self-taught and began learning chords with a Neil Young guitar book. Neil remains my greatest influence, but I grew up appreciating the rhythm guitar work of Pete Townshend and David Gilmour. This was followed by alternative artists like Peter Buck (R.E.M.) and Jeff Tweedy (Wilco). Today, it's Frank Turner and Jenny Lewis, writing really wonderful songs, where the strumming is the focus of the music.

I have a 14yo playing guitar at home, and she's rhythm-focused, just like me, learning songs that she wants to play and sing along with. And I have a 10yo starting out on ukulele, so if he sticks with it, he'll have a good foundation for rhythm guitar later on.

[Jaden]

Originally Posted by pax238

Once upon a time, I called myself "just a strummer". A while back, someone came up to me after a set and complimented me on my rhythm guitar playing, which changed how I see myself. It comes naturally to me, while I take to fingerstyle and picking like a cat takes to water.

Same here, except instead of compliments after a set I had a growing audience around the campfire during a season of tree planting in the wilderness. I had listened to a lot of Bob Dylan and The Band ‘The Basement Tapes’ and there is an easy flowing rhythm all over those records that rubbed off on me. A very relaxed strumming wrist and the illusion of accelerated sections really captivated admiration. I don’t strum anymore/ find it kind of boring now.