How to Strum a Guitar

Get a guitar manual or songbook with chord symbols and use these techniques with different chords and songs. It's more fun to practice if you're playing "real" music at the same time.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Acoustic Guitars
• Electric Guitars
• Guitar Amplifiers
• Guitar Cables
• Guitar Cases
• Guitar Picks
• Guitar Stands
• Guitar Straps
• Sheet Music For Guitar
• Electronic Tuner For Guitars
• Chairs

The Downstroke

1. Sit in a comfortable position. Rest the guitar on your right knee.

2. Relax your hands.

3. Place your right hand over the body of the guitar, with your thumb slightly touching the lowest (low E) string.

4. Finger the easy G chord with your left hand: Press your index finger down on the third fret of the top (high E) string. This will give you a "real" chord to play.

5. Stroke with your right thumb from the fourth (D) string down across the strings.

6. Start counting 1-2-3-4 with each stroke, stressing the 1 (4/4 time).

7. Alternately, count 1-2-3, stressing the 1 (3/4 time).

8. Count 1-2-1-2, stressing the 1 (2/4 time).

9. Use your index finger or a guitar pick instead of your thumb. Listen to the differences in sound. Experiment.

The Down-Upstroke

1. On the same chord, stroke down across the strings.

2. Stroke back against the strings, from the smallest to the largest. The down-up strum goes like this: Down-1, down up-2, down up-3, down up-4 (in 4/4 time).

3. Play in 3/4 time (down-1 up-2 up-3).

4. Play in 2/4 time (down-1, up-2).

5. Use your index finger or a pick instead of your thumb.

6. Practice, practice, practice.

The Bass-Down-Up Strum

1. Pluck the bass note of the chord you're playing (in our case, the D string) with your thumb.

2. Follow with down- and upstrokes. It looks like this: Pluck bass note-1, down up-2, down up-3, down up-4 (in 4/4 time).

3. Experiment with the same pattern in 3/4 and 2/4 time.