Currently incorporating this lesson into my routine to try and make strumming interesting etc, can do it pretty easily at 120bpm now, but has anyone had any luck doing this without looking? I’m doing an enbellishment in one of my songs hitting the g string and hammering on in the middle of a strum part and it’s not really improving without looking, I tend to have about 50% success the other times I pluck the string either side of it. Is this something that’s possible to do accurately all the time? I’m not sure since when you strum it’s hard to know the exact position your hand will be in when it comes up to hit the right string! No problem at all if I’m looking
Hey @Alrey87 , it’s definitely possible, but it takes a lot of practice (I’m only partway there).
A couple of ideas:
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Make sure to keep your strumming motion tight. You want mostly wrist motion not arm motion. You can see this when Justin demos the technique. If possible, the last strum right before your picked note should leave your pick close to the string you are going to pick.
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You can rest your pinky lightly on the front of the guitar to give your strumming hand a point of reference. Justin does this also. Note you don’t plant your pinky, but rather just lightly touch the guitar with it.
In any case, it takes a lot of focused practice to be able to accurately pick out notes while strumming.
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This is a good point. And the fact that this technique is often called “anchoring” sets beginners up for misunderstanding - right from the start.