5 Instant Tips To Get Your Strumming Sounding More Pro 5 Instant Tips To Get Your Strumming Sounding More Pro
Do you struggle with finding strumming easy?
Do you know how to get your strumming to feel more effortless?
In the beginning, many guitarists can't work out how to get their strumming to sound more fluid. Like how the pros do it.
There are five things that might be holding you back from making your strumming to sound better. These things are very common and very typical.
You can work out if any of these affect your guitar playing. So that you can solve these challenges straight away!
1. Having your pick or plectrum too far into the strings You may be putting your plectrum too far into your strings. So your pick cannot freely move inbetween the strings. The force required to move the string becomes much greater. This will make a lot harder for you to sound effortless on the guitar.
To solve this, make sure you only have a small amount of pick in the strings.
2. The Angle In Which You Are Holding Your Plectrum Often when people strum, their pick is flat against the strings completely. Travelling directly down.
This increases the surface area of the pick. This increases the resistance the pick has against the strings.
To solve this is very simple. You need to angle your pick diagonally. Do it around 30-40 degrees. It will help your pick glade through the strings.
3. Strumming from the Wrong Pivot PointAnother thing people do is they strum using their wrist as the rotating motion. This limits for relaxed your whole arm can be. Which we will talk about in a second. It also limits your range of motion, making your playing more stiff.
Try strumming from your elbow instead. Using your elbow as the pivot point. Your forearm should be the one moving back and forth. Like a pendulum. Swinging back and forth.
4. Not relaxing your hand enoughLots of people are very tense when they strum. And yes, there are certain types of music where picking very firm is required. But for strumming melodic pieces.
You want to be very fluid, gliding through the strings. Like an ice skater on ice. While keeping your hand very relaxed. Like the leaves swinging from a palm tree.
You don't want to be stiff like a zombie.
To solve this, you've got to relax. Keeping your hand as loose as possible, while still strumming from your elbow.
5. Keeping the rhythm One of the most common things I hear about the challenge with strumming is keeping in time.
First of all, you need to make sure you can transition between the chords fluently. And it's not because of your slow chord transitions that is holding back.
Then make sure you are tapping your foot or counting out loud: 1, 2, 3, 4. To keep in time. Making it steady. Don't pause after counting 4 for your chord change to catch up. Make sure you strike the first beat on time, with your foot and counting 1 at the same time.
What you can do now! Try and work out what you need to do now to improve your strumming. You may not be suffering from many of these challenges. But go through the list and work out if any of these solve your strumming challenges.
If you would like to help and get actual feedback on your playing so you get better quicker. Then get in touch with a great guitar teacher.
About Author: Darryl Powis is the director, and owner of Guitar Tuition East London. They provides Acoustic Guitar Lessons for Kids and Adults in London. They believe anyone can learn guitar.
Do you struggle with finding strumming easy?
Do you know how to get your strumming to feel more effortless?
In the beginning, many guitarists can't work out how to get their strumming to sound more fluid. Like how the pros do it.
There are five things that might be holding you back from making your strumming to sound better. These things are very common and very typical.
You can work out if any of these affect your guitar playing. So that you can solve these challenges straight away!
1. Having your pick or plectrum too far into the strings You may be putting your plectrum too far into your strings. So your pick cannot freely move inbetween the strings. The force required to move the string becomes much greater. This will make a lot harder for you to sound effortless on the guitar.
To solve this, make sure you only have a small amount of pick in the strings.
2. The Angle In Which You Are Holding Your Plectrum Often when people strum, their pick is flat against the strings completely. Travelling directly down.
This increases the surface area of the pick. This increases the resistance the pick has against the strings.
To solve this is very simple. You need to angle your pick diagonally. Do it around 30-40 degrees. It will help your pick glade through the strings.
3. Strumming from the Wrong Pivot PointAnother thing people do is they strum using their wrist as the rotating motion. This limits for relaxed your whole arm can be. Which we will talk about in a second. It also limits your range of motion, making your playing more stiff.
Try strumming from your elbow instead. Using your elbow as the pivot point. Your forearm should be the one moving back and forth. Like a pendulum. Swinging back and forth.
4. Not relaxing your hand enoughLots of people are very tense when they strum. And yes, there are certain types of music where picking very firm is required. But for strumming melodic pieces.
You want to be very fluid, gliding through the strings. Like an ice skater on ice. While keeping your hand very relaxed. Like the leaves swinging from a palm tree.
You don't want to be stiff like a zombie.
To solve this, you've got to relax. Keeping your hand as loose as possible, while still strumming from your elbow.
5. Keeping the rhythm One of the most common things I hear about the challenge with strumming is keeping in time.
First of all, you need to make sure you can transition between the chords fluently. And it's not because of your slow chord transitions that is holding back.
Then make sure you are tapping your foot or counting out loud: 1, 2, 3, 4. To keep in time. Making it steady. Don't pause after counting 4 for your chord change to catch up. Make sure you strike the first beat on time, with your foot and counting 1 at the same time.
What you can do now! Try and work out what you need to do now to improve your strumming. You may not be suffering from many of these challenges. But go through the list and work out if any of these solve your strumming challenges.
If you would like to help and get actual feedback on your playing so you get better quicker. Then get in touch with a great guitar teacher.
About Author: Darryl Powis is the director, and owner of Guitar Tuition East London. They provides Acoustic Guitar Lessons for Kids and Adults in London. They believe anyone can learn guitar.
