The ‘selective motion’ one is absolutely spot on and a very good way of describing it. It can often sound very ‘stiff’ playing the other way. It’s a lot more natural sound that you get when your strumming hand is more on the move, even when it doesn’t strictly need to be to get the sounds out. And when there’s an accidental strum it’s fine really, because it’s in time with the piece. All to do with the groove baby!
Thank you so much! I was literally just thinking about if there was anything I needed to focus on to improve my strumming & now I have 8. Right time, right place!! Let's just take a moment & appreciate how great a teacher James is. If I had to pay for all these lessons, I'd never be able to afford it all.
Thank you, James. Yip, I'm guilty of most of these 8 mistakes. It's awesome that you focus so much on the trunk of the tree. I can feel and hear my improvements with every video you post. This is so much appreciated as I can notice my improvements every day. You are imprinting the foundation of playing guitar into me. Thank you so much. Your guidance and lessons are so much-needed and valuable.
The things this guy calls "mistakes" are what adds feeling and emotion to music. They're what you _should_ be doing when you play. Play with feeling and emotion, not thought.
Man I'm glad my background was metal. Rhythm comes naturally to me since it's such a central character of the metal style. Even with songs with more than one time signature - it's no problem. It's like having a metronome in your mind.
Coming in as a bass player I have picked up the guitar off and on for quite some time but it never really seemed to click. I am binge watching all your technique vids and am already noticing a difference in my playing. Thnx
Thank You James. This is extremely helpful. Not a lot of people talk about the strumming but for beginners it's not intuitive especially with the up strokes. Definitely will practice and work on these.
I struggle using a plectrum. Always have. It gets caught in the strings. I can't seem to hold it properly, despite following all the advice. I can only seem to keep everything loose and relaxed by strumming with my thumb and finger.
About volume, one thing I've been practicing on is a thing I heard in an Aerosmith intervju, play soft when the singer sings and louder when singer is silent.
Thanks so much for making this video! After years of playing and making all these mistakes to this day I often wonder why the instructor I payed never taught me anything really. Glad i was able to learn from you
Find a bunch of recordings of Norman and Nancy Blake for learning to strum and pick strings. There are many others to learn from, but rhis will be a good place to start. The day I first heard Norman Blake, it changed my musical life. I still am learning after nearly 55+ years. He also plays mandolin.
thankyou so much James, just watching this video today and implementing it immediatley i felt and sounded so much better, felt more comfortable and at ease and it felt...easy and relaxed, keep these strumming ones coming please, and on intermediate strumming and syncopated etc, thanks again!! - tammie
Excellent video. This guy has clearly taught a lot of beginners. I am interested in his point about "selective motion". While it clearly works on guitar, I can't think of another instrument that purposefully adds unnecessary motion. Usually you practice to achieve economical motions so you can go faster with less strain.
James, your attention to details/ the fundamentals are bringing AWARENESS to my approach to Guitar. My being more cognizant is bringing improvements to my playing with each lesson… you are one of the very best teachers of Guitar on the entire Internet! THANK YOU!
.. James - absolutely. The continuous strumming helps me when I need to practice changing chords quicker! The image of the 'brush' works to visualize the flow.. cool T-Shirt btw :)
Thank you for sharing the information. I have been practicing chords for the past several months. Have not started strumming yet. Want to get the chords to be more smooth. Inch by inch! Thank you again!!! Craig
Thank you for your post. I've been playing for years (just self taught as a hobby) and this is the #1 thing I struggle with. I cannot stop with keeping a death grip on my pick. I even buy picks that have the "texture" on them so I can hold it as tight as possible. No matter how hard I try to hold a pick lightly, I just constantly drop it. It's so bad I just turn the volume up on my acoustic/electric and just strum with my fingers, but the downside of that is it's such a muffled sound... the pick strumming has always been my biggest nightmare. And yet I watch millions of people do this on TV, RU-vid with absolutely no issue. It drives me nuts.
I had trouble holding picks until I found Monster Grips. They are thin clear silicone rubbery feeling smaller-than -a-dime sized stick-on circles. That's the only way I can describe them. You peel them off of a sheet of plastic, without touching the sticky underside, and stick them on a clean pick. Tweezers help so that you don't touch them. They are the best thing that I've found. They have a tacky feel, but they're not sticky. Amazon has them (16 for $9.99 and they ship free, or they have a website). Best of luck.
Okay so have you tried strumming without a pick at all? Sometimes it is not necessary, it's better to get the rhythm right than to worry about your grip of the pick.
What I really hate is when I drop the pick and it goes in the hole. I love to check out these instruction videos. You give some really good beginner advice. I've been playing since 1967, by the way.
sometimes it's good to use a soundhole cover (typically used for avoiding feedback when plugged in) to avoid this especially at the beginner stage as you're getting used to it. They are cheap and don't really change the sound of the guitar too much.
Some interesting tips there. As someone who never had formal lessons, I probably suffer from one or more of those, though not badly. The one thing about picks... it's not a good thing to drop your picks often if you're doing a solo gig. The turn of the wrist is something I do, and I ended up going to a lighter pick to solve the issue of uneven percussiveness.
This was awesome content! My dad called me out for changing chords as I strum. He said that I have to stop strumming as I change chords. After decades, I still dont get what he meant.
What I learned from a RU-vid teacher is that open strings on the upstrokes doesn’t usually sound bad. He said a lot of musicians do that while they change chords. It gives you a second to find the next chord’s position. Of course, how well that will work depends on the rhythm you are playing. I wonder what you dad meant too.
I'm an "intermediate guitarist" I guess, and yeah, #4 (keeping your arm motion going when you're not actually hitting the chord) is a big one, that's something I picked up early on, I think from reading in guitar magazines years ago! Also, that makes it easier when you're playing "muted strums" between actually playing the notes.
I'm guilty off all these mistakes. Thanks for the lesson. My biggest issue is when I do loosen my grip, the pick tends to rotate so that the tip is sideways and I'm using the side of a pick. The other is the pick slips down so that instead of 1/4 inch showing, 1/2 inch does.
🎸I have several of Jame’s courses ( Strumming made simple and Barre Chords made easy) they really do build your confidence in playing the guitar.All courses have comprehensive student guides that can be used away from the guitar. It’s tough learning on line but with Jame’s expert and musical guidance and weekly guitar tutor I feel that I am now moving to positive areas for my guitar playing. 😊
But I love how dragging sounds. =D Yeah it’s not always appropriate, but I am drawn to songs that make use of that kind of strumming where each note in a chord has some degree of individual definition.
Hey Michael, yes, you certainly have a point. For the most part, it is wise to master the basics (keeping steady rhythm), before breaking the rules (speeding up and slowing down for stylistic reasons). Hope it helps!
Different people prefer different thicknesses but if it's too thick, it will feel too stiff and fall out of your hand easily. It's actually better to go a bit on the thinner side at first. But not too thin. Medium is best
The hardest strumming I ever practiced is Wanted dead or alive. That taka lot of practice including string muting with a left hand finger also some palm muting.
As a 75 yr old arthritis gets mr on many chords that require stretching even the C so i learned the C add 9 but this makes the transition to am and E and F pretty tough frustrates me I bought a taylor gs mini that helps some but really enjoy playing my dreadnoughts for the tich tone..any suggestions? Enjoy your youtube videos very much
Hello Gary, I think going slow and steady (and I mean very slow) at first might be just what the doctor ordered. Please do be patient with yourself. I am also building a guitar health kit that I made alongside a guitar physiotherapist, that I am going to offer alongside my premium course that will address issues with playing and arthritis. Too much to type here but keep checking back - thanks, James
dude, everyone has got their own style. this kind of stuff is probably why so many radio stations rely on music from 30, 40 or 50 years ago when lots of great original music came out of neighborhood garages.
I am used to play with my thumb. When i try to play with the pick, i have a problem with the upstroke. It seems that my motion while the downstroke is a bit short, so that i can't change the position angle of my pick. Also my motion is too stiff i think. But my rythm seems to be fine 😊 Thank you for your explanations!
I have a nylon strings guitar and I used my thumb and indice fingers this way I do b Stroke brushing technique I learn the major and menor cords but I think y rithm is way out I had I had watch many videos and you don't have see the cords just listen and you are able to identify which song is playing Not me but just keep going forward
For strumming yes, start with a very thin pick then as you get better move to a medium. It’s nice to have a medium like around .70 mm so that it’s not too hard to strum and also pick out individual strings since as you progress you’ll be doing both in many songs.
A bit of encouragement for beginners . . . These things become second nature and you really don't think about it, you just play. It doesn't take that long to get to that level
Hi James, I am recently retired and have committed to playing the guitar again. I consider myself a beginner, however, I have played off and on for 40 years. I took some lessons in the 80s but I've never really been able to progress like a would like to. Learning rhythm patterns and making a song sound like the song is something I could really use help with. Do you recommend the Beginner Guitar Course or something else? I heard you mention another rhythm course for intermediate players that sound like it might help me. Or, do you have another course that may cover other issues....such as theory, scales, lead, etc. Thanks you, Drew
Hi Drew, if you are 100% with your chord transitions, and there are zero "hiccups" when doing so, I would recommend "Strumming Made Simple." It's exclusively geared towards learning to feel and execute rhythm. The complete beginner course (Learn Guitar Once And For All) is the total package, chords and rhythm. It doesn't go as far into rhythm as "Strumming Made Simple" but it goes more in depth on the foundations of rhythm. You can find both of these courses at courses.goodguitarist.com/
@@Good_Guitarist I do many of your guitar tutorials and songs thankyou, Canada so yikes on exchange., but i did find one here on youtube much more within my budget thankyou for your kind response love your youtube page!
It's a Crafter. Wayyy back when James was around 19 years old, he could only afford a guitar that cost around $300. It was this Crafter. Anyway, he was self conscious to put the Crafter name on his channel in case he would be judged for his cheap guitar. STORY TWIST - this guitar actually sounds amazing, and the reason why he left the tape on it was just because he literally forgot that it was still there. He's not self conscious anymore but when I ask him about it he just shrugs and goes, "oh well, I keep forgetting it's covered". Then it became some weird mystery to his subscribers but really that's why. Anyway if James can play this on a $300 guitar, then I think it's a sign he's a good player! Hope that helps.
Try placing your thumb on the six string / second fret. F#. When you play a D open chord. D / 4th string open is root note. A / 5th string open is alternate bass note. F# / 6th /2nd fret adds a bass note for depth and fills out the sound when strumming to back vocal performance. Not all songs but try it.
@@robinhood480 Yep, that's how I've been doing it since 1977. It's just something I've noticed in beginner (and some intermediate) players, and think it belongs on the next list if he makes one.
Some of what you are showing is up for debate. Sometimes, you need to sound a little more aggressive if the material requires it. Also if you drop a pick, don't over worry about it. I play with both a pick and without. Just make the same shape as holding a pick and use your index finger think combo to hit strings. This is shown in any Ukulele study. Also, because People concentrate on always using a pick, they do not successfully perform songs like Smoke on the Water. This song is performed using the fingers and zero pick.
ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ibMxYyK75WI.html&ab_channel=AgaZagA I find that backing tracks help me to get the "internal rhythm" you speak about. I don't know why, but I can strum fluidly, up and down, to the backing track above.
An acoustic and an electric guitar should be played different, don't bang on your acoustic like you'd dig into the electric. I've switched to fingers only on acoustic, I think it sounds better and (after a little adjustment period) it feels more natural.
Why even move your arm to strum? The simple solution is to strum with a bent wrist and rotating your forearm. Even better, get rid of the pick There is no reason nowadays to use a pick for strumming, except for effect in some recordings.
Yes, smaller loose wrist action rather than big arm motion with continuous movement so you can incorporate selective picking, muting (palm, pick), hybrid picking and other advanced techniques.
so, I have to say that rotating your forearm does not yield the same rhythm results as moving your full arm. I had a great teacher once tell me this and I never looked back.
@@Good_Guitarist Well, they did not know what they were talking about. This is easily demonstrated. If fact, when you use the correct technique, all kings of advantages occur, especially once you get rid of the pick and use your fingers for strumming. Listen to any good flamenco guitarist.
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