i think you solved my guitar strumming problem and i'm ecstatic. my teacher didn't think i was doing anything wrong and sounded good, but i knew i had issues with up strumming and knew it was mechanics somehow but could not fix or figure it out, now that my hand position has changed on my down strum, the way you showed it i'm already feeling better, more in control and my upstrum issue feels solved already and i think you saved me months if not years in my learning of stress, thankyou!!!!
Gary I would love to see a better view of your pick in action and how you hold your pick. The video was very helpful. I believe it's how the teacher delivers the lesson to the student is where the learning happens. And you delivered for me.
While downstrum how many string I have to catch and if possible can you show in another video how you are changing chords while playing this strum. It is so beautiful.
Hi, thanks so much for your comment. I'll consider making another video :) For the down strums, you generally want to hit all the strings that are represented by the chord (for example E Major = all 6 strings, D Major = strings 1, 2, 3, 4). Up strokes you just want to catch the top 2 or 3 strings as I described in the video. I hope that helps! Also... I'm currently offering a free guitar lesson during covid19 - go to garyleemusic.mystrikingly.com/lessons-and-sessions if you're interested.
Thanks a lot, Gary; your video is so helpful and informative. I 've more often come across lessons on strumming 'patterns', but yours is a standout amongst the countless videos where you demonstrate 'how to strum'. I have had difficulty in perfecting the upstroke ( I still have it to some degree), and thank you so much for showing the right 'technique'. I just have one question. Does it matter which three or four strings one is supposed to brush on the upstroke depending on the chord being played? For instance, the G chord has its root on the lower E string and does this mean one has to play only the thicker strings on the upstroke? Contrarily the D chord uses the 4 strings on the other end (nearer the thinner E string), and does this necessitate playing these strings selectively on the upstroke? Thank you for your reply.
Hi Eashwar! Thanks for your kind words. As a general rule the upstroke tends to sound really great when it emphasizes the treble strings (high E, B, and G). The reason for this is that it creates separation between the low and the high notes which tends to make the the guitar strumming more interesting. I hope that helps!
Nice video. Helped with my strumming. I still seem to be having an issue though. On the up strum, i seem to be catching the high e string way to much and it rings out loudly. Almost like the pick is catching the string .Any advice to solve this?
I'm glad it helped some! Regarding the up-strum... a few things to consider: 1) check how tightly you're holding the pick. There should be some give and movement as it hits the strings. 2) you might be coming from below (meaning underneath) with too much pick and it's getting caught? 3) try isolating the upstroke and adjusting until it sounds more the way you want it to. I know that might seem obvious, but that helps me at times to do that. I hope that helps!
It really depends on how you hold the pick. I recently switched to the more traditional grip (pick between the side of the index finger and pad of the thumb) and I'm having a really hard time doing upstrokes.
@@97m_it hi thanks for the comment. I have a guitar strumming course that will be available soon. If you’d like to be notified feel free to join my free guitar community on Skool - www.skool.com/garyleemusic-2716
I’ll consider it! I don’t normally play this way very often, but when I do (or if I forget my pick or something) I literally pretend I’m holding the pick and strum down with the index finger and try to catch the thumb on the upstrokes. The upstrokes never sound as good to me without a pick though. I hope this helps a little!
Hi, a very basic C Major chord would be (from low string to high): 6th string don't play, 5th string 3rd fret, 4th string 2nd fret, 3rd string open, 2nd string 1st fret, 1st string open. I hope that helps.
Your explanation sounds rather simple and informative. Have a question, for example, C major chords, I tend to strum the thickest string sometimes which is frustrating. How do you make sure that you are not hitting 6th string?
Thanks for watching. That's a great question. What I do is I let the edge of my ring finger on my left hand lightly touch the 6th string. This way I don't have to worry so much about missing that string. I can simple hit all the strings and only the ones I want to sound actually sound. I hope that helps!
Hi... for upstrokes play them in between the strong beats. And don't try and play all the strings when doing up strokes. Simply catching strings 1, 2, and 3 on the way up will sound great. I also have a course on rhythm strumming here if you're interested: garyleemusic.teachable.com/ Thanks! Hope that helps!
My teacher was pushing me to keep 3 fingers open when I strum or pick the strings and now I see all these videos teachers doing the locking there fingers, what’s is the right technique????
I think it’s a little different for everyone. For me my four fingers stay touching like a relaxed fist. My first finger slightly separated from my middle, ring, and pinky. As long as your hand is relaxed that’s the most important. Try lightly touching your thumb to your index finger and recognizing where your other fingers naturally are. Let me know if that helps.
I think for this type of strumming style, a medium or medium thin pick sounds the best. of course you can use any pick, it will just produce a different kind of tone.
Hi! yes, the upstroke can be quite difficult. If you'd like to book an online lesson feel free to email me at gary@garyleemusic.com - best of luck to you!
