Stuck with Strumming

[CamiB]

By the way…I received my Yamaha APXT2 (3/4 size acoustic-electric guitar) on Saturday. I’ve been playing (with) it since then. I’m hoping the smaller size will help me progress.

[Moose408]

The advice for anything you get stuck on is slow it down and isolation.

Do it painfully slow, so slow that you don’t make a mistake. When you can do it 3 times in a row without a mistake speed it up. I use a metronome and will speed it up 5 or 10 bpm at a time. If I make 3 mistakes in a row I slow it down by 5 or 10 bpm. Keep it slow. By doing it slow and concentrating it tells the brain that this is important and it will start remembering it.

Isolation. When learning a strumming pattern ignore the fretting hand and focus on just the strumming hand. The brain can’t learn 2 things at once, so isolate the 1 thing you are trying to learn.

[CamiB]

Thank you, Moose. I will try these techniques.

[petelanger]

Don’t know any shortcuts but I too was a very clumsy strummer, it simply takes a lot of time to work out the motions until they are more natural. I’m much better timing-wise than I was in the beginning, working on consistency, that is hitting the strings with the same touch (not too hard or too soft) and hitting the strings that are supposed to be hit. Generally we hit the entire chord going down (4 – 6 strings, depending) but coming up you will only need to (even should only hit) 2 – 3 maybe 4 strings)

[Rich Z]

This. After stopped trying to hit all strings on the way up strumming got better.

The other two tips that helped me were: to angle the pick slightly, where the tip of the pick pointed away from the direction of the strum. And second was to flick the wrist on the up stroke, catching just the bottom strings (G, B. E – and D).

[CamiB]

Any tips on how to NOT drop the pick into the sound hole?

[petelanger]

Sorry, that’s never happened to me!

[CamiB]

It happens often. It’s a real bear getting it out of the instrument. I guess that’s one of the reasons that I prefer to play with my fingers.

[petelanger]

So funny! After I responded I realized that the guitar I play the most has an off-centered hole, it’s a good inch above the strings. So if the pick slipped while playing it wouldn’t likely fall in the hole. I don’t drop them often during play but I still lose them regularly. I keep plenty on hand just in case!

[jorgemac]

The magic word is metronome. I have a super deluxe Boss DB-90 because I think this tool has helped me more than any other tool. I used to hate using it because I knew ,just knew, that I was too good to need help with a metronome. Had to put my ego in jar and bury it in the dark, while blind folded, s I couldn’t find it easily.

I turned that puppy on and set it to 70 BPM and found out that I was not as hot as I thought I was.. Take heed and listen to Moose, start at a much slower speed and only increase the tempo when you can actually increase the tempo mistake free at the old tempo.

Actually, I still hate it cause it keeps me honest, which is not as much fun as thinking about how cool you and your guitar are. Very humbling tool.

[Philb]

Congrats on the guitar!

On any guitar skill or technique, the thing I have learned is, practice, repetition, and time. I get so impatient with certain things (like making and transitioning to the Bm chord smoothly). I am better than last year, the year before, etc; and depending on where I am moving to it from, may do it well enough for that piece; but still find some inaccuracy or inconsistency at times. My old fingers just don’t want to cooperate at times. Keep going, and enjoy the new guitar.