Lesson on How to Strum the Guitar

You can strum the guitar with a pick, your thumb or your finger. If you use your back fingernail you can imitate the sound of a pick quite well. Strums fit in two main categories: up strums and down strums. When you strum up, you should only play the first three strings. In guitar method books when two strum symbols are connected together, it indicates that the second strum should be up and the first should be a down strum and both strums need to be played during one beat.

Many guitar players prefer to tap their feet to keep the beat of the song. Your foot should be down on your down strum and up when you do an up strum. An alternative to tapping your foot is counting out loud by saying "one and two and three and four and.." While saying "and" make sure you are strumming upwards.
Guitar Strumming Technique Tips

To create the best sound, you need to strum differently for different types of guitars. An acoustic guitar sounds best when you strum directly above the sound hole. With an electric guitar, you strum over the main body because that is where the pickups are located. Strum firmly across the strings so you get a clear ringing sound. Always make your down strums and upstrums produce an equal amount of volume. Avoid rattling the strings by not strumming hard enough. Make sure you use your elbow as the pivot point for your strumming, even though you don't strum the strings every up or down movement, you should never stop. This will keep you on beat. Your wrist should not bend as you strum.

Below is a pattern you can use to practice your strumming skills:


More Advanced Gutar Strumming Techniques
Now you are going to learn about the dead (muted) strum. This strum appears in notation like a regular strum sign only with a line through the top. The result is an X on top of a line. To play a dead strum, place the palm of the right hand over the strings and leave the hand there while your finger or pick strums across the strings. In other words you are striking the strings with a pick while you are muting them. If you couple the dead mute strum with a regular clean strum, you can make interesting patterns and sound effects. Once you start to get the hang of it, you'll be addicted and you'll start creating your own mixtures of clean and muted strums.