Strumming Perfect Upstrokes - DrKevGuitar.com 

Keep at it and you will improve, I promise. Every minute you spend trying to improve counts, even you see no immediate improvement. Your brain has to figure out how to control a ton of muscles fibres in ways it has never done before. It needs time and that means you might have accept some crummy playing for a little while. But it's all part of the process and you will get there! :-)

Kevin Kretsch thank you! yea I hope so. anyways your videos are really helpeful so I'll just keep on following those things everyday and eventually I will have to get better.

The secret of funky strumming is to get the hand moving down at the same time as the forearm is moving up - I'll do a video about this one day to show what I mean. If the hand is going down and the forearm is going up, then the wrist is REALLY loose - Funk baby...

KiraKira BurningNight the string resistance is way worse

I have the same problem too

ROFL! Thank you!

I DO know your brain. It'll get there. Be patient, give it more practice time. :-)

Through the Abyss lmao

exactly ...

Yes, it does! And well done, you! Just keep at it, keep trying, and it will become second nature.

I have the same exact problems!

Same!

Yeah, it never ceases to amaze me what a difference it makes, how much it focuses our ability to listen. And not just "stare into the distance" or "look at nothing", but really truly close your eyes.

Happy I can be of help to you! Have a great weekend, and get more sleep! :)

Thank you, Matthew! And well done!!

Thank you, Caroline.

I also have a really tight and stiff wrist. I hold the pick too tight also. Any tips?

I still don't understand the Steve Buscemi thing but it's not the first time somebdoy said that to me. Thanks! :-)

You’re very welcome. I shot this video so long ago I forgot how young I looked! Keep working at it you’ll get there. Everyone can do this, just a matter of time. Keep turning up, keep putting in the time in, and you’ll be a great player!

@@michellef3110 You are very welcome! Thank you for the message, Michelle.

You are very welcome!

Thank you, Paul!

Glad you find it useful! Keep at it and good luck!

Well done you! Keep at it!

Thank you, David!

You're very welcome. Thank you!

You are very welcome, and thank you!

You are very welcome!

Well done you! Fantastic! Once you get comfortable with the thin nylon pick try lots of other picks, different thicnesses, materials, shapes, see what works best for you. They all sound and feel a little different. Thicker generally makes life a little more difficult at first but you learn much more control of volume with thicker picks in the long run.

🤣 No matter how many students I tell, they never believe me. Until they try it. Like, really try it. Don’t be afraid, be brave, nothing can go wrong, your guitar won’t explode, nobody will be hurt, not even you, and the worst you can do is play something that momentary sounds bad before it evaporates and vanishes. Fearless is the path to awesomeness. 🙂

@@DrKevGuitar haha yeah, I think it's one of those things that make you think "he's just saying that, I don't REALLY need to close my eyes. Maybe someone who's a bit slow would need that but not me, I can just skip over that." But it's an important step and you really need to give it a chance to help you.

+Anik Yamin Glad you you found it useful!

Do try! Give it some time, it"s not the kind of thing that comes 'magically' first time you try. Mute the strings, close your eyes, listen, and allow yourself to get it wrong every so often while you try to get it right. You will get there in the end. Good luck!

Thank you!

Thank you!

You're very welcome!

I just did a video called "Keeping Strings Quiet While Strumming". It'll cover most of what you need. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-3DyEMhf7ukA.html

You are most welcome!

You’re very welcome!

"Listen to my voice. You are now under my control. Your guitar playing will be smooth and beautiful. And you place $100 in my paypal account..." :-)

Hi Lindsay! Thanks so much for your question, I've done a video response to your question here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-etA1rCiVpEs.html

Thanks for the personal video! I am incorporating all your advice into my strumming technique.

Thank you so much Александр. 😊

Upstrokes can be initially tricky for some players and they'll just need to keep trying before it comes right. That will be the case with or without a guitar pick. I think upstrokes should not be part of the decision of which pick to use. Choosing a pick really is a personal decision and there is no right or wrong answer. My recommendation is to spend some time with a few different picks and eventually choose the one that produces the best results, i.e. what sounds best and feel most comfortable for the music you want to play. Picks come in many shapes, thicknesses, and materials, and they all feel and sound a little different. So try a bunch out and see what works well. Some beginners prefer a thin pick because it we feel less string resistance (because the pick moves out of the way more). Other players prefer a thicker pick which affords us greater control and range of volume but at the expense of taking a little more time to get used to. I think it's well worth persevering with a thicker pick, e.g. medium or heavy gauge, and I encourage my students in that direction, but ultimately it's still their decision at the end of the day (though almost all settle on medium or heavy in the end). Just make sure that you don't give up on something too quickly just because the results in the first few minutes are not great, i.e. spend enough time with the picks you do try to give you time to get used to the new feel under your fingers and give a pick time to prove itself before you reject it.

Great question! Angled, never parallel! The guitar pick is parallel to my thumb, which is roughly parallel to my forearm, which is clearly NOT parallel to the strings. See my video on how to hold your guitar pick! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-CmT8TnWWNXs.html

Hi Mike, yes I take students. DrKevGuitar.com

Yeah, whole arm makes life difficult. Notice in the video how my forearm is anchored to the top edge of the guitar, my elbow is behind the edge of the guitar. That's limits the amount of elbow/forearm motion and helps promote more wrist action. Place your forearm on the guitar, just like I did, so that your strumming hand hangs naturally over the strings. Relax all the muscles from your shoulder down to your finger tips. Grip the guitar pick as lightly as possible without losing control. Then try to keep your wrist as floppy as possible as you strum. It may sound and feel awful to begin with but stay with it. Give it time, it will get better, I promise!

@@DrKevGuitar Thank you. I will keep that in mind when I'm practicing. Happy July 4th!

@@DrKevGuitar Thank you so much for helping me. I appreciate it.

Same angle down and up. Don’t even think about the angle in fact. Just close your eyes and feel your hand and wrist moving. Also, see my video on holding your guitar pick. It may be useful to you! How to Hold Your Guitar Pick - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-CmT8TnWWNXs.html

@@DrKevGuitar your video was very helpful, thank you

First, yes, old habits are hard to break - takes perseverance and patience and lots of repetition to allow your brain the time it needs to unlearn the old way and get used to the new way of doing things! Sounds like you might be rolling your strumming hand on the upstrokes. Don't let the back of your strumming hand turn over. If you are using a guitar pick, draw a smiley face on your thumb nail. Before you start the exercise, note the smiley face should be facing the ceiling roughly over your head, perhaps just a little forward of you. When you complete a downstroke it should be facing the the general direction of the headstock of your guitar. As you do an upstroke it should move smoothly back to it's starting position, like you ran a film of the downstroke in reverse. The smiley face should be facing that same spot on the ceiling again. Once you've gotten used to that idea do the exercise I show in the video. Invoke the "two minute rule" - do the exercise for TWO FULL minutes at a time (use a timer), non stop no matter how many mistakes you hear, preferably with a metronome. Close your eyes and as you play alternate your attention between listening to the result and, by feeling the motion of your hand and wrist, picture in your head where the smiley face is facing. Now, I don't know how useful that smiley face idea will be. It may not work, in which case, find an experienced local guitar teacher. A good teacher in the same room will always be able to help you better than I can in the RU-vid comments section! Good luck!

Thanks for the advice, Kevin. I will give it a try.

I don't recall saying that in this video. Where did that idea come from?

@@DrKevGuitar it comes from two other videos that explain upstrokes. They say it is better to play only the first 3 cuz of timing.

@@Keyc94 Let me put it this way... I've been playing guitar for 30+ years, well over 1,000 concerts, followed by 8 years of teaching. That thought has never once crossed my mind before today. :D Without thinking about it while we're playing, it's possible/natural that we don't play all six strings all of the time, but I certainly don't teach that as a basis for good strumming technique as you've heard. But I will add this point... Playing fewer strings can be very useful because it simplifies/focusses/clarifies your sound, which can be very helpful in a band context. But other than that, i.e. doing so because you like the sound, there is no other reason that I'm aware of.

Go watch my video on holding your guitar pick! :)

I'll bet the tip of the guitar pick is too far away from your fingers. When it hits the string resistance it moves like a loose tooth. See my video on holding your pick... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-CmT8TnWWNXs.html

Just keep trying! Assuming there is no major issues with your playing position/posture, you will get there. Do the exercise I describe in the video - close your eyes, count, listen, feel. Play with a loose relaxed wrist rather than from your elbow. Set a timer and do drills of two whole minutes at a time. Don't stop to correct mistakes, just try to keep a smooth constant rhythm going. Listen to what your playing sounds like - just be gently honest with yourself, acknowledge when it sounds crappy and, more importantly, when it's getting better! These kind of frustrations affect everybody when learning to play the guitar. Everybody goes through something like this and everybody comes out the other side able to do it. You will too!

Difficult to say without being in the room with BUT you may need to learn control and touch. I'd suggest doing the exercise from the video, eyes closed, listening carefully, but do it playing as loud as you can for, say 30 seconds, followed by as quietly as you can for 30 seconds, and then at an in-between medium volume. The more often you practice like that the more control you will have with the volume of your guitar. And the tone! Listen to how the tone changes with volume and with the distance of your strumming hand relative to the bridge. There can be a lot of variation that you can learn to master! Enjoy!

Thank you, I think?!

Kevin Kretsch LOL YES it was a compliment your voice is so soothing 😭

Michel Hoang I use thick, small picks, small teardrop (358 shape) 0.9 mm. But it makes no difference what pick you use, use whatever works best for you. Thin is generally easier for strumming but thicker picks, I find, gives more control of dynamics. See my video on holding your guitar pick for more discussion!

@@DrKevGuitar i made it, now i can do upstroke easily with 0.88 pick, thanks dude

Michel Hoang FANTASTIC!! Well done!

@@DrKevGuitar i even forgot how i failed to do it in the first place lmao

Michel Hoang ha ha! Yes, now that you have it you can never lose it!

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-CmT8TnWWNXs.html

@@AjayThakur-cm9wn Fucking love you too, now go practice some more. 👍🏻

Unless you have a physical issue with your fingers, you will be able to if you keep at it. Undoing an old habit can take many months but it's worth it. Good luck and check out my video on how to hold your guitar pick! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-CmT8TnWWNXs.html