nemz
New Member
Posts: 2
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Post by nemz on Jul 5, 2011 16:01:25 GMT -5
Hi all! My name's Matt and I bought my second guitar three weeks ago. (Bought the first one in 1994 and never learned how to play it, then sold it to my little sister like an idiot.) I've been practicing every day and I'm getting a little better....even posted a couple videos on YouTube called "SUCKS@strumming.com" to document my progress. Progress, however, is very slow. Here's the second of four I've made so far: youtu.be/8pkm5LbmPz8Now you see why I need a little advice, huh?  Do any of you have any tips on how I can improve my strumming? Obviously chord-switching is an issue for me as well at this stage in my guitar development, but strumming seems to be giving me the biggest headache. Is it really just a matter of getting used to it or do y'all have any advice that helped you at the very beginning stage of learning? Any and all help will be greatly appreciated. BTW, since I can only coherently play about three chords (modified G, Cadd2 & D) this site has been a God-send. Thanks, Mojo! |
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Post by pwfirst on Jul 5, 2011 18:00:22 GMT -5
I have heard worse, I have done worse, But try a little more wrist action and a little less arm movement. It will speed things up and you can contol the pick a little better.  |
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Post by lesblues on Jul 6, 2011 7:01:02 GMT -5
I have heard worse, I have done worse, But try a little more wrist action and a little less arm movement. It will speed things up and you can contol the pick a little better. Phil are we still talking strumming here? Just wondering  |
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Post by leerummey on Jul 6, 2011 11:34:20 GMT -5
hi matt and welcome  the first thing i would say after watching your video is slow your strumming down a bit to start off with secondly to help with your chord changes try doing just down strums along with the chord changes also you could try using a thinner guage pick as well so it doesnt dig in to the strings as much hope i helped lee |
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Post by leerummey on Jul 6, 2011 11:56:07 GMT -5
here is a post from mojo in a strumming question that may help you out ;D
Re: Strumming for a beginner
« Reply #1 on Feb 14, 2011, 11:46pm »
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Hi there and thanks for joining us here
1. I had the same problem you have now, so I can certainly feel for you. It can be frustrating.
2. The way I got over that was two-fold. the first part was dealing with my right hand being in charge of the rhythm aspect of things. The second was ditching the pick to play with my fingers instead. Not too sure how relevant to you the second part is.
When learning a new song where the strumming is difficult for me, instead of strumming "normally" I strum only once per beat and sing along. This helps me get the chord changes down, their relation with the sung words in the song, etc.. Usually, I make it a down stroke.
Once I get a real good feel for the above, I start adding in between strums, usually alternating down and up strokes. At that stage, I am not trying to sound like the original song yet, just trying to get a feel for the groove of the song.
If I have a recording of the song available, I try and play along, not with the guitar player, but with the rhythm section - bass and drums. I try to isolate the bass line as it will give me hints on how the groove is developed.
Once I have that down, I stop playing and go do something else. I find that the song stays stuck in my head anyway and I let my subconscious acclimate itself with the song. I usually catch myself humming it.
Whenever time allows I go back to it and make sure that I am still at the same level of comfort as I was before I left. Now when I try to play the song again, I focus on the actual strummed lines on the original recording. Because of the "prep work" that preceded this stage, that part usually comes together fast.
Bottom line: I try to have fun, I listen to the original, and I take the groove apart down to its bare minimum before I build it up again to something either resembling the original or something that I am comfortable with.
If you listen to my lesson on how to play Who Says by John Mayer, you will see that I have changed the groove of the song considerably. It's nothing against the original tune, which I quite enjoy, as much as it is the fact that when I play the song live, people dance to it when I play it that way, and I get a kick out of it
I hope this helps!
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Post by pwfirst on Jul 6, 2011 15:04:38 GMT -5
I have heard worse, I have done worse, But try a little more wrist action and a little less arm movement. It will speed things up and you can contol the pick a little better. Phil are we still talking strumming here? Just wondering No Peeking Les |
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Post by lesblues on Jul 7, 2011 3:32:36 GMT -5
Phil are we still talking strumming here? Just wondering No Peeking Les ;D |
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