Strumming 101 – Basic Positioning

The last several posts have covered chord basics, but this month I’ll begin to tackle the “how's” of strumming and talk about the basic playing position. It may be a good idea to review how to hold the pick with students before getting started.

Generally speaking, there is one position in which the arm positions itself in order to strum and that is with the middle of your forearm rested over the edge of the guitars’ lower bout. Exactly where the forearm rests depends on the player and where one intends to strum. 

For example, if a player wants to strum towards the neck they may rest the forearm more towards the elbow or rest closer to the wrist in order to play closer to the bridge. Moreover, slight adjustments to the position will be made from the elbow and shoulder. 

Next month I’ll delve into the actual mechanics and how the arm should move to create a relaxed and smooth strum.

Reading Rhythms and Applied Strumming Patterns

The last several posts have been geared towards introducing chords in a formulaic manner to students while only slightly touching on the subject of how to strum them. In this month’s post I will broach the topic of strumming with quarter and eighth note rhythms. As I stated in Chord Basics, pt. II – when presenting chords for the first time it is also a good idea to introduce music notation – specifically rhythmic values. Rhythmic notation is a great visual aid and will help students understand what they are doing physically when strumming when playing rhythm guitar.

When first starting to read and strum rhythms I recommend having students play through various permutations of single measure quarter and eighth note combinations; the chart below outlines several examples. The best chords for these are those that require using 5 or 6 strings so the player can focus on the strumming pattern and not hitting the correct strings. 

Have the student use a single chord as they play through all the patterns; don’t even worry about switching chords at this point – strumming is the focus. There are several things to keep in mind. 

• Write in how to count the rhythms, so students understand how to count the rhythm before playing.
•  Have students say the rhythm out loud before playing – if they can’t say it, they can’t play it. 
• Write in strumming marks because students will need that visual reference when reading. 

Reading rhythmic notation is a great way for students to begin building a strumming vocabulary and as they progress the rhythms you introduce can become more complicated. I’ll revisit the topic of reading rhythms and applied strumming patterns in the future posts.

Chord Basics, Pt. IV - Two Finger Chords

The October and November 2014 posts introduced the idea of starting new students with one finger chords so that they can progressively transition to the multi-finger chords generally used by guitarists. The only issue new players may encounter is that the one finger “G” and “G7” chords require strumming four strings; most students will inevitably strike strings not in the chord. This is of course acceptable as new players are working on the mechanics of playing and mistakes are to be expected.

Once students are comfortable shifting between the one finger “G” and “G7”, it is then time to introduce two finger chords. 

 Keep in mind it is always helpful to review how to read a chord diagram as introducing new chords with a second finger can throw some off. Moreover, these chords require striking five and six strings – so make sure to review which strings are to be played and which are not.