Do You Struggle With Strumming?

Let’s say you can hold some chords and get a clean sound when you strum them.

You can also move your fingers efficiently enough to change to other chords with little or no problem.

The next step to this process is the ability to strum through these changes without losing time and keeping a consistent flow.

The number one thing you want to realize as a guitarist is that you’re gonna lift your fingers a half beat or even a full beat before the next chord is played.

Beginning players think that a chord is held in its entirety until the next chord is played, therefore the strumming hand tens to slow down to accommodate this change and the player never lands on the chord correctly to continue playing.

In the video demonstration you’re seeing me play a G chord and strumming an eighth note pattern.

When I play the last upstroke located on the upbeat of 4 I release my fingers and change to a C chord. I do the same going back to G.

Simply subdivide the beats: 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and. When you’re ready to play the “and” of beat 4, release your grip on the chord and change.

This works in any situation when you’re playing a typical strumming pattern found in a variety of Rock, Folk, and Acoustic styles.

In the next demonstration, I’m playing a G major barre chord and a C major barre chord.

You don’t need to keep the strings ringing at all times. In this example

I’m releasing the G chord on beat 4 leaving a full beat before the C chord is played. During beat 4 I’m scratching the strings and creating a percussive element during the transition.