I am on grade 2 currently following Justin’s course. I started getting comfortable with simple rhythms/strummings. While practicing, one of my friend who happens to be guitarist gave feedback on my strumming that during UP strokes, the pick does touch all the strings on the guitar especially the bass strings and that it is incorrect to play like that. Until he pointed out, I didn’t realise this. It is true, all strings are not playing on UP stokes but THE RHYTHM AS A WHOLE SOUNDS pretty ok to me (even without playing bass strings during up-strokes).
I have been trying to ring all the strings now but that is just slowing down my strumming rhythm.
So I want to know for sure if is it ok if not all strings are touched during UP strokes ?
I would disagree with your friend. It’s not always the case that all strings are strummed on the up strokes. Take a song like Horse With No Name - the up strokes are on the lower 3 or 4 strings only. It depends on the context of what you’re playing, how you want it to sound.
Hi Shruty, and welcome to the community! I’m a Grade 3 beginner, and just recently focused on this exact issue. In regular strumming, it is true that you do not hit the two thickest strings on the upstrum. (Those are the E and A strings, aka strings 6 and 5.) If that’s what you are doing naturally, keep doing it! In guitar, there are exceptions to most rules, but as a beginner I’ve found focusing on the basics, the stuff one usually does, is important…until you find a specific situation where a deviation from usually is appropriate.
Depends on the music. I would not say its “incorrect” but depends on the song. Probably a lot more common to only play the higher strings, but its not really “incorrect” unless you are you playing a chord where the lower strings notes are not in the chord.
The same notes make up a chord whether you play Up or Down. You might not always NEED all of those notes and/or they might achieve a sound you were not looking for, but they are still relevant to the chord. Take the example if you played upstroke on the open G Maj again, you are still stumming two G notes on the high E and G string even if you skip the E string. You can really go either way depending on the song or the sound you want to achieve. Both are a G chord whether you play g, B, G, D (Bottom 4 strings) or g, B, G, D, B, G (all 6 strings).
Agreed,
Thanks
I have been deliberately trying to move my hand all the way up to ring 5 and 6th strings and that did not sound right for certain songs with high tempo and I was lagging behind.
I’m glad you and @MAT1953 found this. I was pretty sure that was what I remembered Justin teaching, but that was a long time ago for me and didn’t want to say so unless i was certain.
My opinion is that it doesn’t matter at all and actually makes your playing more interesting if every single strum doesn’t sound the same. If you’re playing songs that are primarily open chords then changing volume and changing the strings that you’re hitting on each strum are the main ways to make your playing sound more alive.
Obviously there’s a fine line between where interesting / dynamic ends and where sloppy playing begins. If you get too random and every single strum catches different strings then that might be a different matter
Hello @Newbie09
Welcome to JustinGuitar and the Community Shruty.
It’s great that you have friends who also play and hopefully one day become jam buddies.
They may have learned things differently to Justin’s teaching methodology.
Bear in mind the old adage - if it sounds good it is good.
I often talk to my students about rhythm and strumming and allowing each to have a different sound.
I have included this in recent live club sessions too. Vintage Club #21 with Richard | Strumming Help
I call it Thicky-Thinny.
Not exactly technical jargon but I believe the name describes the concept nicely.
Allow down strums to target thick strings and up strums to target thin strings.
It brings tonal variety and dynamic qualities to your rhythm playing.
On many occasions, you will encounter songs where there is an up strum on the & after 4 and it is played with open strings as a chord change is made. That definitely should not be all six strings being hit, just two or three.
