How to Learn Strumming Methods in Rock Guitar

Strumming consists of upstrokes and downstrokes on the guitar strings using a pick or your thumb. Beginning guitarists should focus on learning to strum correctly before trying fancy fingerpicking or solos. Different songs require different types of strumming. Many songs require a variety of strumming patterns in the same song. The type of strumming you use also dictates when you should change chords in a song. Read on to learn strumming methods in rock guitar.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Shake out your hands to make sure they're relaxed. Flex your fingers, roll your wrists and massage any tension out of your fingers. A tense strumming hand can make music sound harsh, even if you're playing in time.

2. Place your fretting hand's palm over the strings on the neck of the guitar without making any chord shape, gently pressing the strings to the frets to mute their sound. This enables you to focus entirely on the strumming without trying to switch chords at the same time.

3. Strum the guitar strings downward toward the floor, keeping time as you would when clapping along to a song. Count one-two-three-four, one-two-three-four over and over to keep the beat. This is a simple downstroke pattern in 4/4 time, which is the rhythm of most rock songs. One sequence of one-two-three-four is called a bar.

4. Add upstrokes to your strumming pattern. Strum down-up, down-up, down-up. Count one-and-two-and-three-and-four, with the "and" occurring on the upstroke. Put slightly more emphasis on the downstroke to stay in 4/4 time.

5. Remove the second upstroke from your strumming pattern to skip a beat while staying in 4/4 time. Count one-two-blank-two repeatedly while miming the second downstroke.

6. Mix the down-up pattern and the one-two-blank-two pattern. Play two bars in the down-up pattern and then another two in the one-two-blank-two pattern and continue to alternate.

7. Invent your own strumming patterns using these basic ones as inspiration. Listen to the strumming patterns musicians use on your favorite songs, and try to emulate them.

Tips & Warnings

• Use a metronome or drum machine to help keep time.
• Practice each pattern until it feels like your hands are doing it on their own, similar to an autopilot task like riding a bike. Once you experience this, it means the strumming pattern is in your muscle memory. Regular practice will keep it there.
• If you're playing acoustic, strum over the sound hole. If you're playing electric, strum over the first pickup.
• Think like a drummer and use the guitar strings percussively while you're practicing muted strumming. This will get you into a rhythm-player's mindset.
• Don't strum from the elbow. Make sure your wrist is moving rather than your forearm. Otherwise, tendinitis or other repetitive motion injury could result.