Learning to Strum the Guitar

Learning how to play the guitar takes time even if it does not guarantee that the person will become a rock star. One can still do it by practicing often then harnessing his skill.

There are two ways for a person to start strumming the guitar. The first is doing it with the fingers and the other is doing it with a pick.

Practice starts by finding a place where you won’t be disturbed. Positioning does matter a lot so it’s best to put the guitar over the right knee (for a right handed person and vise versa if left handed) in order to play well.

There are some rules that you must remember when strumming. Of the 5 fingers, only 4 are used. The thumb touches and from to time adjusts to the three brass strings. The index, middle and ring fingers will handle the three treble strings. The pinkie is not used since it is the shortest finger and is not conducive to playing the guitar.

The guitarist can start by putting the right hand over the body of the guitar. The thumb should then touch the lowest string which is the low E.

At the same time, the left hand should touch the easy G chord and the index finger can go to the third fret at the top which is known as the high E string.

The right thumb will then stroke the 4th string then adjustments of the fingers can be made to hear it at different sounds and intervals.

If the person feels uncomfortable letting the fingers do the work, then he should start by using a flat pick. Some people have said that this is the easiest way to learn since a guitar has steel strings. By holding the pick with the thumb and ring finger then practicing it at different intervals, in time you will get the feel of playing the guitar.

Strumming is the best way to learn how to play a guitar. This can be done by buying a song book and reading the chords or learning them from friends.

When you are ready to move from drills to a playing a song, it is suggested that you have the music playing in the background.

Strumming is not only for beginners as some of the most skilled guitarists do this to warm up before practice or a gig. Everyone has to start somewhere and it starts by knowing the basics.