Let’s go over some of the fundamentals of strumming. They are important to build a solid foundation!
View the full lesson at Strumming Mechanics | JustinGuitar
Best lesson so far and applicable to players of all skill sets.
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Glad you found it so useful @SmokeJS
Cheers 
| Richard_close2u | JustinGuitar Official Guide & Moderator
When I strum on the electric guitar should I strum in between the pick ups or is it okay to strum and pick on top of them? I’m using the Ibanez grgr131ex and noticed that I usually play on top of the pick ups closest to the fret board.
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Hello @SaulU and welcome to the Community.
There is no ‘should’ here.
Moving the position where you pick will alter the sound.
Strumming very close to the bridge will make the sound brighter, more trebly.
Strumming closer to the neck will make the sound less bright.
The only thing to watch for if you strum vigorously, if your pick is too proud of your fingers, or if your angle is steep, strumming over the pickups may cause you to occasionally hit them and get the pick snagged as it passes.
Hope that helps.
Cheers 
| Richard_close2u | Community Moderator, Official Guide, JustinGuitar Approved Teacher
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Great tip on pick angle!
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angling the pick with the thumb is by far the best thing I have heard in a while. I have been learning with another program and just started here. Angling the pick makes both picking notes and strumming easier and better sounding. great tip!
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John @drake_equation
Firstly Welcome to the community
Angling the pick works for me as well
Michael 
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Can you demonstrate beginner strumming techniques without using a pick? Both down and up strokes. Thanks!
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Dipping my toe into the module 2 material… really focusing on this lesson this week! Adjusting my pick angle, rather than strumming it flat against the strings like I was, definitely makes each string ring out more clearly. (Installing a new set of strings helped too… I’ve had the factory set on my nicer Stratocaster this whole time!) I also dialed it back to a .60 pick from a .73 pick, and I’m definitely able to feel the strings much better. That was difficult with the thicker pick.
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I recall another online teacher imagining your strumming hand as if there was sticky honey and to avoid the bees you want to flick it away with your hand.
Maybe this can provide future beginners with another way to strum if they have wrist pain.
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Is there a difference in the angle of the pick between strumming down or up?
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Hi Thomas,
I do. Remember that there is more than one axis of rotation on “angle”.
- I strike the string with a slightly leading edge on the pick. This comes from the angle I am gripping with fingers. Striking perfectly flat will brighten the sound a bit with a slap, and feels a little like my fingers are straining to maintain the position.
- I rotate my forearm a bit to get it to slide across without catching under a string between up and down strums
- I try to keep the pointy part generally aimed directly toward the body of the guitar.
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Hello @ThomasDirkse and welcome to the Community and JustinGuitar.
The short answer is yes.
The long answer includes some of the good advice and comment from @sequences. Your fingers, hand, wrist and forearm are all making micro adjustments as you swing in the strumming arc.
Justin recommends strumming from the forearm and elbow in the very early stages, and not so much from a relaxed and loose wrist. This is because he wants beginners to develop the essential habit of keeping a constant Down-Up motion. Only when learning faster strumming does he recommend allowing the wrist to get involved. The forearm is still required to move up and down but the wrist is better able to move at a more rapid rate in a controlled way. The size of swinging arc that the forearm will move through is reduced and the wrist and hand use their muscles and tendons and ability to make micro- rotational adjustments becomes important.
I tend to be a little less strict in my thinking of use of the wrist for absolute beginners. But that could be due to my own playing style. I tend to be more flicky - whippy - wristy in my strumming action.
Here are some graphics showing a type of wrist rotation - albeit these show extreme movement with a lot of rotation (as they are taken from sites for physiotherapy) compared to the degree and extent of wrist rotation needed for strumming.
Why is this an issue?
The curvature of the arc with which your pick approaches, strikes then moves away from the strings is best when it is shallow and across a span about double the width of your strings. Like this:
Too much rotation of the wrist on a fairly static forearm means that the arc takes a much more pronounced curvature. The attack on the strings can be choppy, the pick can dig in between strings making for a less smooth movement and there is a bit less overall pick control. Like this.
To develop a good habit, I recommend that anyone do some plain and simple rhythm strumming, Down Up Down Up Down Up Down Up eighths, and speak out loud in the strum too. Say what you play.
Say out loud:
Down Up Down Up Down Up Down Up
Be conscious of your forearm and wrist working together.
I hope that helps. Cheers | Richard | JustinGuitar Approved Teacher, Official Guide & Moderator
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What about strumming with fingers?
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Welcome to the community Gloria 
It’s a very big question you are asking…
Finger strumming is lots of fun, often sounds more intimate than playing with a pick and there is a quite wide range of techniques to learn and discover. Justin even has a Strumming SOS Course dedicated to finger strumming.
You are asking this question in module 2 of Grade 1, so I guess you are at the very beginning of your guitar journey? Let’s see if I can find some links to get you started…
Have you seen this lesson?
This video is also very useful around min 11.40 Justin addresses finger strumming.
I hope this helps a bit
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