#1
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More strumming questions...
I went to a guitar instructor, asked her how to strum, and was told that I should strum the first three strings with my thumb and the other three strings with my four fingers.
My questions are as followed: - Do you actually have to strum with all four fingers? - To strum, do you use your fingertips, your nails, or your knuckles? (I've been told not to strum with my fingertips or my nails, so I'm starting to wonder if people actually strum with their knuckles.) - How do you strum upward? I've been told to use my wrist, which makes sense in theory but which I can't actually do since I'm still bending my fingers in a way that makes them feel weird and unnatural. - When you strum upward, do you have to hit all the strings? Are people going to be able to tell the difference if you just hit two or three strings instead of the supposed, say, five? That's all for now. Thanks for answering! |
#2
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Most people hold a pick when strumming. The pick would hit the strings that you want to sound.
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#3
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Your best bets are visuals. Try some youtube videos.
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Derek Coombs Youtube -> Website -> Music -> Tabs Guitars by Mark Blanchard, Albert&Mueller, Paul Woolson, Collings, Composite Acoustics, and Derek Coombs "Reality is that which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." Woods hands pick by eye and ear
Made to one with pride and love To be that we hold so dear A voice from heavens above |
#4
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use your nails
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1993 Taylor 855 2006 GS Custom, Coco back and sides Takamine EGSF15SC Santa Fe Guild Bluesbird 09 Taylor Sinker Dread (Rosewood) |
#5
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You mentioned an instructor. Do what your instructor says. If you are paying for advise -- take it -- your instructor will get you there, hang in BTW Good luck. . Last edited by Malcolm; 06-19-2009 at 09:07 PM. |
#6
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You should probably learn to strum with a pick first. Then, learn how to introduce rhythm and melody into your strumming patterns. You have to train your brain to transfer your ideas into your hands and into your guitar: it takes time and practice. Once you learn how to do it with a pick, start to use your fingers. You'll soon see that you will use all parts of your hand for many things: everything from muting to picking a distinct sound.
Also, an easy way to learn it is to take simple chords & just start strumming. You'll make allot of mistakes, but some of those mistakes sound real cool and will become part of your playing. I learned more new tricks from mistakes than by any book or video. Make sure you have fun when doing it! Also, don't be afraid to be daring or bold. Use the pick to force your ideas into the guitar. http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...+beginner&aq=f http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=video...fp=leBsIIJAIN0 http://www.amazon.com/Peavey-Present...5510711&sr=1-4 Quote:
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#7
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Hi wannabe...
Hello and welcome to the group. I teach students fingerstyle, and we learn to strum without picks using the nails of fingers 2, 3 for the downstroke, and the back of the thumbnail for the up strum. There is no precedent that says you must either use a pick or not use one. Know this that there is more variation in tone produced by picks than by your nails (which are always the same weight and approximate thickness). It would probably be fun to learn both with a pick and with your nails. I'd suggest using a med-thick pick and strum near the lower end over the sound hole, as that will produce a more robust tone than thin picks near the bridge (and will break less strings). But whatever method you learn, have fun and learn to play relaxed and take discussions like this with a grain of salt...most of us only think we know best what others should do... |