[OzarkGuitarist]

Hi everybody,
I have been teaching myself for over a year now. I am trying to learn how to strum better. I can strum a few patterns, but I don't have a good technique for counting as I strum.

One guy seems to have the best technique of anybody I've seen
He uses numbers 1 2, 3, 4 etc to count his down beats and puts parenthesis around the skipped beats but he does count them: (1).
For up strokes, he uses +.

On the other hand, Daniel Choo (who's video lessons have helped me a lot) uses a different method
He doesn't count each beat and also doesn't appear to keep his hand moving but stops when skipping beats.

I am really confused on how I should be doing this.

Thanks

[Kentl]

The best way (or most taught how ever you look at it) is to keep struming

so go down on 1,2,3,4
and up on all the + no mater if you hit strings or not

[Giga Hertz]

Usually the best method is to keep your hand moving no matter what. It helps maintain rhythm and tempo.

[Rainer.]

Count to the beat...

1___2___3___4___

Each beat is a quarter note...

Here are 3 lines of music (in 4/4 time):



The arrows mark whether you are strumming down or up.

In the first line, each strum is a quarter note on the beat. Simply strum down every beat.

In the second line, each strum is an eighth note. Count it: "One And Two And Three And Four And". Strum down on the beats, and up on the "And"s. Make it natural and smooth, don't tense up.

The third line shows how to start making different patterns, this is "One (And) Two And Three (And) Four And". You are going to strum each green arrow, but on the ghosted arrows, your hand will still move back up, but you won't hit the strings. Keep counting to the beat.

[Rainer.]

Let's look at 16th note strums.



This has four strokes per beat.

You count these as "One E And A Two E And A Three E And A Four E And A". Alternate up and down strokes. Practice with a metronome, keep your strokes even, don't tense up, make the movement natural.

Note what happens in line two. This pattern is "One (e) And A Two (e) And A Three (e) And A Four (e) And A". Your hand still moves up on the missing (e)s, but won't hit the strings.

Let's look at a more complex, but common strum pattern in the third line. Note that the "A" of one is tied to "Two". Count carefully!
One (E) And A (Two) E And A Three (E) And A (Four) E And A
As to how to count during this exercise, just count "One E And A.... etc" like you normally would, but note when your strumming hand is striking or not striking the strings.


If you watch Daniel Choo's strumming video carefully, you will see he doesn't actually stop his hand. The strokes that he takes that do not strike the strings are simply very far from the strings. It's far more natural to keep the hand moving than it is to stop it.

[OzarkGuitarist]

Thanks a lot for the reply's.

I don't quite understand is how to write these patterns.

One pattern that Daniel Choo uses a lot is this one:

1..2....3.........4
D,D,UDU,DD,DU

He doesn't count every down beat but seams to group them so that there are 4 counts. How would you write this so that there is a number or letter to say for each down stroke?

One more question, what do the e's and a's stand for?

Thanks!

[jeepnstein]

1 e and a 2 e and a 3 e and a 4 e. It's just drummer talk for sixteenth notes.

[Rainer.]

Originally Posted by OzarkGuitarist

Thanks a lot for the reply's.

I don't quite understand is how to write these patterns.

One pattern that Daniel Choo uses a lot is this one:

1..2....3.........4
D,D,UDU,DD,DU

He doesn't count every down beat but seams to group them so that there are 4 counts. How would you write this so that there is a number or letter to say for each down stroke?

One more question, what do the e's and a's stand for?

Thanks!

I can give you a quick vid on this later today, but for starters, just count sixteenth notes out loud, "one e and a two..." while he's playing. You should be able to hear where each stroke hits while you count.

[OzarkGuitarist]

So, that one pattern would be counted like this?

1. 2 +e + 3 e 4 +
D,D,UDU,DD,DU

[Rainer.]

Okay, I saw the strum in the video you are referring to. This is how it looks in standard notation:


You would say that...
"One (E And A) Two (E And) A Three E And (A) Four (E) And A"

Remember in a sixteenth note strum like this, e's and a's are always up strokes. 1, 2, 3, 4 and all "and"s are always down strokes.

[OzarkGuitarist]

Wow, thanks for writing that out. It looks like you divided it into 1/16th beats. So, do you keep your hand moving up and down 16 times per measure? On the video, it doesn't appear as if Daniel's hand is moving that fast. It seems as if his hand stops moving or at least slightly pauses. How should I do it?

[Rainer.]

Originally Posted by OzarkGuitarist

Wow, thanks for writing that out. It looks like you divided it into 1/16th beats. So, do you keep your hand moving up and down 16 times per measure? On the video, it doesn't appear as if Daniel's hand is moving that fast. It seems as if his hand stops moving or at least slightly pauses. How should I do it?

Again, his hand doesn't stop, if you look carefully.

Think sixteenth notes, and then watch his thumb carefully. He's still playing those down and up strokes, just not hitting the strings. If you stop your hand, you can't keep time with it. And when it comes to strumming, your hand is a much better timekeeper than your brain.

[OzarkGuitarist]

Originally Posted by Rainer.

Again, his hand doesn't stop, if you look carefully.

Think sixteenth notes, and then watch his thumb carefully. He's still playing those down and up strokes, just not hitting the strings. If you stop your hand, you can't keep time with it. And when it comes to strumming, your hand is a much better timekeeper than your brain.

I think I see it now. His hand still moves but its not as exaggerated when he's not hitting the strings, making it harder to detect, right?

[OzarkGuitarist]

Oh, by the way, what program are you using to make those cool strumming pattern diagrams?

[Rainer.]

Originally Posted by OzarkGuitarist

I think I see it now. His hand still moves but its not as exaggerated when he's not hitting the strings, making it harder to detect, right?

Correct.

Originally Posted by OzarkGuitarist

Oh, by the way, what program are you using to make those cool strumming pattern diagrams?

I just drew them out with shapes in PowerPoint, in fact.

I like using pictures and standard notation when I can. A picture says a thousand words...