- Ready to expand your range of strumming styles?
- We give the lowdown on three essential strumming styles & patterns.
- Also, for the electric guitar guys and gals, check out our picking styles guide.
There are many methods when it comes to how to strum a guitar. Most begin by picking the instrument up and strumming with their fingers.
Feels good; sounds terrible. But as we learn, it only goes up in quality, and that’s what learning different guitar strumming styles and patterns will do.
Most importantly, a guitarist should try them all regularly.
Whether this means that you have to learn how to strum a guitar without a pick or learn alternate methods than you are comfortable with, the process will make you more comfortable, confident, and skilled at the instrument.
So, if you want to learn the basics of the different strumming styles and patterns, you’re in the right place. Let’s play.
Strumming Styles: How Many Are There?
That’s kind of like the classic “how long is a piece of string” query when it comes to an instrument as versatile and creatively liberating as a guitar.
There is an unlimited array of possibilities with it, and you should follow and play from your heart when exploring them. That could result in a broad and alternating pattern. This is particularly the case with songwriting and jamming.
When it comes to learning songs, rules are set to a degree. The more authentic you want your recitation to sound, the closer you should follow those rules.
That said, here are a few of the common strumming styles.
Strumming with Fingernails & Tips
Strumming with your fingernails and tips is a good way to play chords and create that aforementioned fulsome sound.
It also assists with positioning practices, i.e., keeping your knuckles pointed away from the strings. You can also match the dynamics in a song this way, as the tips and nails give you ample space.
Strumming with Your Fingertips
If you’re a beginner, be prepared to feel some comfort with either of these strumming styles, as both will break the skin, creating blisters, which will then harden into calluses, making it easier to play.
Contrapuntally, the hardness will allow you to play the tunes with a rather magical softness, particularly true with the fingertips. It provides a hushed, muted sound that pours velvet into the ears.
Strumming with Your Thumb
It’s not against the rules to strum with your thumb. In fact, when practicing fingerstyle, the thumb plays a major role as the bass line and generally has a significant role.
For instance, it can act as the “call” in a “call and response” dynamic. It can also act as a bullet point or accent on a specific rhythm.
The latter is equally true for a high note, so it depends on what you’re writing/learning, but these options are your palette and canvas.
Strumming and Picking: Differences
When we discuss guitar strumming, it helps to decipher it from picking and even fingerpicking.
And fret not (see what we did there) because giving honorable mentions doesn’t mean we prefer one over the other. They’re all equally valid. Anyhoo.
Fingerpicking: This is when you pick strings individually with your (brace yourself for an epic twist) fingers, and generally, it’s all about melody rather than hitting chords. Acoustic solos, for instance. Typically, this might go on top of chords or singular for the virtuoso.
Fingerstyle: This form involves using your fingertips, nails, and even the classic thumb-pick strategy to create a fulsome and complete sound with chords, progressions, and lovely sounds involving multiple strings. More on this soon.
Picking: You can also strum with a pick, which is preferable if you don’t enjoy the process of making your fingers bleed, which is more than likely for a beginner in the acoustic zone. This offers a whole new array of versatility depending on the development of your picking style and even the pick density.
Patterns
We’ll now lay out the patterns for strumming the guitar, from the most basic to some examples of more advanced patterns.
For some of these, you will need to know how to strum a guitar with fingers and others with a pick.
We should note that, realistically, there is an infinite number of strumming styles and patterns out there, some of which you can create yourself. We can’t list them all.
Down
The downstroke is the most primordial strumming pattern that we have.
It’s tried, true, and works for finger strumming or when you learn how to hold a guitar pick for strumming. A good start is to learn a few basic chords, such as E major, A Major, and D Major.
Strum them in different shapes with this strumming pattern until you are comfortable with the feel of it. You will soon be fluid.
Down Up
Next is to practice guitar strumming in a down-up pattern, or alternate as it is also called.
This is when you strum both down and up in an alternate fashion. You can see where it gets its name, can’t you? Spoiler alert.
But it’s a great way to advance your strumming skills and the most natural way to progress onto more complex patterns, such as:
A Variation on Alternate: Picado
Picado is when you combine two or three different dynamics to create guitar strumming patterns that suit certain genres, such as flamenco.
Get into the habit of quick alternate picking, and you’ll jive with a quick, breakneck, melodic genre beyond mortal powers.
From One Guitarist to Another: The Importance of Using Your Wrist
It should also be noted the importance of using your wrist.
Not just in terms of its maneuverability and positioning, but your body language can determine how effectively you are using your guitar strumming patterns. Too abstract? Let’s break it down further.
When playing a gig, one often tightens up due to nerves. It’s totally understandable, given how apprehensive a crowd can make one. But it leads to cramping, which affects your playing, sometimes stiffening it.
This increases the chances of pain, discomfort, and cramping in the palm of your hand. Trust us, it’s not the most pleasant of sensations.
The solution is to practice using a flexible wrist.
Not only will this loosen the style up and give you greater control over what you’re playing, but will get you ready for those big moments in front of crowds if that is your goal.
Other Factors
Strumming Speed
The speed of your strumming is another influencer of tone, genre, and style.
Upbeat blues songs such as Wilbert Harrison’s Kansas City use faster strumming speeds. Now that’s an old one.
Equally, the combo of softer and slower strumming styles can give you a melodic tune full of ennui. It all comes down to taste, after all. But why not try both?
Strumming Ferocity & Distortion
Heavier songs might require a more ferocious style and even use black magic that is distortion. The sound your amp and guitar make will influence how you play.
Strumming Styles: Which to Go With
Once again, there is no “correct” method regarding guitar strumming patterns.
While there are tried and true methods of positioning your hands for guitar strumming or holding picks horizontally for comfort and avoidance of making your knuckles bleed, when it comes to the dynamics of a song you are learning or writing, there are no limits. Music is not math.
That said, each method will have its barriers and benefits. Using a plectrum, you can achieve a louder, more impactful strumming sound.
Yet, finger strumming and fingerpicking can essentially create five plectrums, each with its own function.
But both styles are long-term practices. Pick users will only develop calluses on their fretting hands. Fingerstrummers will develop them on both.
Though it takes a long time, doing so can complement other methods of guitar strumming. Bigger callouses mean tougher fingers. Tougher fingers mean greater versatility and ease — especially if you use an acoustic guitar.
Final Thoughts
In summary, it will be your influences, style goals, and goals as a whole as a guitarist that will inform your strumming patterns and styles.
However, any striving guitarist should practice the entire range of fingerpicking, fingerstyle, and plectrums for strumming, as this will galvanize the others and encourage the exploration of new genres.
And as you delve further into your guitar journey, that can be pretty refreshing.
*If you’re looking for a new acoustic guitar, be sure to check out our article, which selects the absolute finest acoustic guitars across a range of budgets.
