How to Strum a Guitar
Source: Guitar Chords – Guitar Basics
How to Strum a Chord:
This may seem like a very basic and natural thing to do on the guitar, but there are do’s and don’ts that we should adhere to. Here are a few basic recommendations to make things easier for you to play better sounding chords and achieve the sound you desire.
Rhythm Importance:
Even though the lead guitarist gets most of the glory, the guys or gals playing the rhythm play just as important of a role in the songs success. A good rhythm player sets the beat and often the entire band will follow their lead.
Pick Position:
The pick should be held similar to the instructions given in our article on How to Hold a Guitar Pick. This is the most natural way to hold one and will give you the most versatility. Hold it for chords in a similar manner. One thing we don’t want to do is shift position of the pick from playing lead notes to playing chords.
Right Hand Wrist:
Your wrist should be loose and very flexible. Don’t hold on with a death grip.
Right Hand Arm:
Your forearm sould act like a pendulum at the elbow and swing across the strings lightly brushing them is a rapid motion. Special Note: There is a method of strumming a chord where you play each note individually. This is called an Arpeggio. It just means a slowed down strum or notes one at a time.
Right Hand Strokes:
You can play both down and up strokes on the guitar. Most of the time the up stroke consists of just a “flick” of 2 or 3 of the treble strings, rather than dragging the pick across all of strings like a down stroke would.
Left Hand Position:
The left hand is just as important as the right hand when it comes to playing the guitar and this applies equally to chords. Since you are putting multiple fingers on the strings at the same time, it is critical that you fingers are placed on the strings as perfectly as you can. They should arch and only the tips of the fingers should press the strings down. To read more on this see the article How to Play Chords Efficiently.
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