Guitar strumming lessonz

Guitar Strumming:

Strumming is a technique in which you play the notes of a guitar chord (almost) simultaneously by stroking the strings with a pick or with your finger.

Using your finger sounds the warmest in my opinion. Use the nail of you index finger to strum the strings. Support your index finger with your thumb.

A guitar pick produces a clear sound with a lot of treble in it. The hardness of the pick is important: a very hard pick can make your sound too harsh while a very soft pick produces a 'flappy' sound. A medium thickness gives the best results for strumming.

Check out the following link for the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lu-ZTcTd17g

A soft pick with be easier to strum with than a hard pick (generally). For absolute beginners, the really light white Dunlop picks are a good choice, they are really bendy and encourage a brushing, rather than digging action.

1. Try and keep the pick at right angles to the strings. This is because you want the strings to vibrate in an up-and-down motion, not side to side. A major cause of fret buzz when strumming is getting the strings vibrating in the wrong plane, so keep that pick nice and level.



2. Don’t hold the pick too hard. Hold it just firm enough to stop it slipping.
   


3. Strum near to, or over, the sound hole for most of the time.



4. RELAX - I have seen people look like they are chopping wood when strumming, with a rigid arm going up and down, and no wrist movement at all. Chill out! You want to feel like there is no tension in your arm at all, just a nice loose feeling.
   

Metronome:

If you want to get really good at strumming, or even move from rubbish to average, you want to get yourself a metronome. It doesn’t matter if its and all singing, all dancing digital one that plays a myriad of different tempos, or a traditional wind up variety that just ticks its merry way at your chosen speed, just make sure you have one.