Any tips on fast strums on guitar?

[Donny Hinson]

Clete says hold the pick firmly and Ken says to hold it lightly for this fast strumming technique. Which do you other guys use? Thanks, stevet

I did a lot of this when I played guitar, and my vote goes for holding the pick lightly, so that it sorta "flops back and forth". I found it was more difficult to do if the pick was small, and I often used those big triangular picks when I was playing a whole song doing this technique. That "chord strumming" style was something I picked up from watching Eddie Peabody play tenor banjo (and guitar)...and that guy could play some tenor banjo!

[David Mason]

In a recent Premier Guitar article, Sean Watkins of Nickel Creek had this to say about the wrist and angles:

How would you describe the essence of bluegrass rhythm guitar?

If you want to play bluegrass guitar, it’s definitely a specific thing. It’s a specific sound that takes a lot of the rhythmic role in the band. You’re kind of playing the kick drum and snare, with the bass notes in the strumming, so the rhythm guitar takes on a lot of responsibilities within a bluegrass band. Everybody does it a little bit different, and everybody holds the pick a little bit different, but it’s basically about keeping a really loose wrist, with your wrist pointed out so that your hand swivels, instead of just moving up and down. It’s kind of a whip-like motion, and when I give lessons I always get people to do that first without playing. It’s like shaking your hand out like it hurts [laughs]. Once you get it, it all makes sense, so it’s always fun to show someone how to do. All of a sudden you see the light goes on, and they’re doing it, and it sounds different. It sounds like bluegrass rhythm guitar.


http://www.premierguitar.com/articles/2 ... ckel-creek

[Joachim Kettner]

I hope that none of you are annoyed that I revive this old thread, also because many of those who contributed are not longer around anymore.
Lately I picked up the mandolin and found that it was way better to play it with a thin pick.

Clete wrote:

I've noticed that many acoustic players that primarily strum rhythm chords will use thinner picks. The floppiness of a lighter pick makes it much easier to strum fast, but you will lose some of the attack and definition that a thicker pick provides when playing scales, single note melody or solo lines.

Here is a Creedence song with some extremely fast strumming:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWxDGQm2hKk
I can't play it right and maybe I never will, but to come near I use a very light pick and hold it a little bit sideways. The chords I refer to are C F D G A

[Will Houston]

I love to see old posts revived. I haven't played my mando for awhile but I do remember liking a thinner pick also. Great Creedence song.

[Fred Treece]

A medium pick would be okay too. Grip it so about half the pick shows under your thumb. It’s important to not dig into the strings too deep or it will sound out of tune and make a bad tone. I like what somebody said about gripping just tight enough so it doesn’t go flying off. If you get halfway through that crescendo on Put A Spell On You and lose your grip, you’re almost there.

The forearm plays a part in the motion too. If you only strum from the wrist, the pick will hit some of the strings hard and others softer or not at all. Moving the forearm from the elbow will help even out the attack.

The other main thing is to make sure your timing is right. Those are supposed to be 16th note triplets in the song which in 6/8, so every beat gets 3 strums. Not sure if they hit them all exactly. One beat-worth of 3 strums will start on a down strum and the next 3 will start on an up strum. That is what makes John Lennon’s “All My Lovin” part so tricky too. It goes against the more familiar down-strum on the downbeats and up-strum on the upbeats. Definitely start with something a little slower and easier, or play one of those at half speed.

The bluegrass “boom-chuck” strum pattern is a quite different thing.

[Donny Hinson]

Just saw this clip, and this guy seems to have it down:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9q7hEIwzC1g

[Fred Treece]

Ha! Yeah that guy has a lot of stuff down that most of us will never touch.
Good lesson, good find - in spite of the camera man going off topic a bit.