Straight is the most simple to visualize: it’s completely even between two eighth notes. Now we’ve divided four counts into eighth notes.Īny time you play eighth notes they can have a “feel.” This falls into one of two categories: swing (also “shuffle”) or straight. In this way you can count: (1) and (2) and (3) and (4) and to play only the upstrums.Ĭombine both down and up motions and you get the whole shebang: 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +. They can also be “counted” by naming the upstrums “and” (often notated with “+”). If you examine the rhythm you’ll see that all the downstrums happen on the count: 1…2…3…4… If you only play downstrums you’re basically counting the song in quarter notes. When you strum down and up you are creating a rhythm. The chunk – or chop – strum is a popular decoration to any contemporary strumming pattern. Learn a couple simple songs and focus on getting the strumming as smooth as possible.Īs you “chalangalang” (a fancy name for a swinging down/up strum), you’ll be developing muscle memory that will be vitally useful for other strum patterns. Spend a couple weeks just strumming down/up until it’s very natural. Like most things on ukulele, you’ve got to be patient with your strumming progress and not go racing ahead. However, I tend to encourage people away from this way of strumming simply because it’s not a very expandable motion – the way the thumb hits the strings limits your options for chunking, and different tones. There’s not really anything “wrong” about it and some songs can benefit from the mellow sound of a simple thumb downstroke. I like to think of this bobbing arm and hand motion as coming from 50% wrist twist and 50% arm “hammering.”įor reasons that are beyond me, many people naturally gravitate towards strumming everything with their thumb. Always angle your finger so that it bounces across the strings going both directions. In between each strum you’ll have to change the angle of your wrist and index finger. Once down and up are simple on their own, combine both motions and strum down, then up. Practice this motion on its own, just strumming up while counting. Again, you can twist your wrist and let your finger loosen up a bit too easily cross the strings. Simply reverse the motions of the downstrum and drag your index finger back up the way it came. The next step is to add an upstrum in between each down strum, but to start let’s just focus on the upstrum. Practice this until you feel comfortable. Try playing some downstrums on your ukulele to a rhythm: 1…2…3…4… This will be a simple down, down, down, down strumming pattern. Strumming in other places will yield different sounds and should be experimented with, but take it one step at a time and start where it’s easy. This is where the best tone is produced and where the string gives your finger the least amount of resistance. The best place to start strumming the strings is close to where the neck meets the body of the ukulele.
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