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Not Complaining but I need Help With Rhythm and strumming up and down.
Ok all of you great guitar players, I am looking for advice, other sites or courses on TAC to help with strumming and getting the up-down stroke that is vexing me right now 🙂 . The cords are coming easier and the single picking up and down is ok as along as i can remember the pattern we are playing. All in all I am seeing improvement week over week but the last 2 lessons of the week seem to tie me in knots. I am lucky if I can get 2 measures on either day, plus it does not sound like music in the least. Not complaining or being boo-hoo just would like to figure that part out even if it is real bad but making progress, my strumming is the same as when I start 60 days ago.
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4 Replies
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I felt the same for a long time. I would spend a few minutes everyday doing isolated practice on strumming (mute the strings with the fretting hand and just focus on the strumming hand). I didn’t feel like I was making much progress and then suddenly at the 8 month mark of my guitar journey I could suddenly strum. It was a very binary thing. On Tuesday I was struggling and on Wednesday I suddenly could strum with complicated rhythms. I’m not sure what was different but on Wednesday I was playing with feeling/emotion instead of just concentrating on the mechanics.
Don’t know if this is helpful other than don’t get frustrated, and practice what is hard.
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You are not alone with this. Some people find the strumming very difficult and it takes a looong time to crack it so don’t panic just yet. You are still early days. My guitar journey as I approach my 3rd TACiversary is one of struggling with Barre chords but strumming I have no problems with (see my last post in the Play For Us). That is because I no longer think about it. Teachers have to start by breaking it down into UP… UP DOWN…UP DOWN UP type instruction and to start with that is what you’re trying to remember. It’s the difference between translating a second language and thinking in it. I would suggest not getting too hung up on the exact lessons right now and just practice going up and down. This can be as slow as you like. Even with an open neck and no chord held or just a single chord doing up down and getting the pick feeling right in your hand so you don’t chuck it across the room or lose it in the sound hole (I speak through experience). Get used to simple up and down because that is the fundamental thing you will always do. A lot of the complicated strumming patterns you see, the player is going continuously up and down but just muting the strings or lifting the pick off the strings to lose the parts of the pattern they don’t want to hear. If you want to get into it properly then there is a Strumming course in the Skills section of TAC so that might be worth a run through. But my main advice is get up and down going then you will have the foundation you need to do anything. Good luck! Darren (Moonhare)
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See I knew you guys would give good advice. Oh well back to the drawing board. 🙂
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I’m 4 months in and feeling good. I Did the 30 days, 5 day routine, and some of the daily challenges. I’m working my way through the “Skills courses.” This last Monday under “Getting Started” I saw “Strumming Jumpstart.” Today after lesson 4, I smiled and chalked up one for the Win column. If you haven’t worked through this one, I’d suggest to take a look. I print out the TABS so I can make notes of what Tony is saying.
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