Any tips on fast strums on guitar?

Joachim Kettner · From: Germany

Very often at the end, or to end a song, the guitar is playing these fast strums. I can't seem to do it right as my pick always gets stuck somehow in between the strings.
Does the secret lie in a different pick angle towards the strings or what else?
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Bill Hatcher · From: Atlanta Ga. USA

you talking a trem on a single string or fast strumming a full chord?

Joachim Kettner · From: Germany

Bill, full chords. Like the At the ending of this song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iHgGpUm30I

Or an even better example, the riffs throughout the whole song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SS9Vh0-xnzI
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Andrew Roblin · From: Various places

Joachim--

These strumming techniques--both full chords and single string--are an integral part of 4-string banjo technique.

Banjo virtuoso Buddy Wachter has a wonderful, inexpensive course that teaches these right-hand techniques.

I play tenor banjo and have used this course. It was great for me, and I recommend it to you:

http://www.homespuntapes.com/Instructors/buddy-wachter/learning-tenor-banjo

All the best,
Andrew Roblin
International Sho-Bud Brother & Sisterhood
Member #79, Janitor

Joachim Kettner · From: Germany

Thanks Andrew. His advice, to let only a tiny bit of the pick extend from the thumb and first finger helped me a little to be more accurate. I guess the rest comes from practice.
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Andrew Roblin · From: Various places

Relaxing the shoulder, arm & wrist helps.

So does working with a metronome.

And getting so you can easily and automatically subdivide the beat into units of three and four at any tempo.

Wachter teaches a variety of great strums--and a whole lot more. I really can't say enough about the value of this course. It helped me a lot on every instrument I play.

Andrew

Mike Neer · From: NJ

I often use my fingertips for this, brushing them up and down against the strings with my wrist doing all of the work. I also do it on steel guitar, but more as a tremolo effect.
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Joachim Kettner · From: Germany

Using the fingertips... good advice, but doesn't the tone differ a little, when it was a plectrum that was used for the rest of the song?
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Mike Neer · From: NJ

With my fingertips I can go from a whisper to a scream--you simply hit them harder and use the nails.

I can use a pick, too, it's just that I love the blur of sound I get with the hand.
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Brint Hannay · From: Maryland, USA

I've always been impressed by John Lennon's constant, even strumming part throughout the verses of "All My Loving." It's almost as if it was being strummed by a machine. It's crisp, clear and even and down- and upstrokes don't sound different.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogzJ6HtWNTE

But even he had the odd off night (this one sounds more like I would):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NbKBdjMFiE

Joachim Kettner · From: Germany

Yes Brint, his rhythm playing is amazing, it was also pointed out by a former friend of mine, who was a much better guitar player than me.
"Nobody Told Me" is maybe not so hard to play, because it's slower, but still worth mentioning:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfIwyZlfXnQ
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David Mason · From: Cambridge, MD, USA

This lies in the "imagination" department. Staring at your hand, and your guitar, saying "I can't do that..." well, you'll be right. But what would it sound like if you could do it, for just a few seconds? Then what would it sound like if you could do it for a few seconds more....

You already know how to do this - you just haven't done it yet.

Clete Ritta · From: San Antonio, Texas

Joachim, one key to fast strumming is to grip the pick fairly firmly, but keep the wrist very loose and flexible. Try contacting the strings with as little of the pick as possible. If you are using a heavy gauge pick this tends to be a bit more difficult.

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.

Andrew, I got to meet Buddy a few years ago when he was in town performing with our symphony here. He is an amazing player and a really nice fellow too. I had never heard classical music (Chopin, Liszt, etc.) played on a banjo before.

Clete

Joachim Kettner · From: Germany

Ken Lang · From: Simi Valley, Ca

There is another secret to this, and that is the ability to do it for long periods without getting tired. It gets all your muscles working together. Hold the pick fairly lightly so it won't catch on the strings, start up and down slowly and work your way up to speed. Do it 3-4 minutes at a time, slowly, for maybe 30 minutes 5 days a week. Speed up as you go along.

By 3 months you should have it down better than anyone you know.
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Andrew Roblin · From: Various places

Right on, Ken.

I would only add...

...with a metronome.

Andrew

steve takacs · From: beijing, china via pittsburgh (deceased)

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

Clete Ritta · From: San Antonio, Texas

I guess I should clarify firmly. Hold the pick just firmly enough so that it does not fall out of your grip or get caught in the strings as the OP related, and no more. It is important to let the other fingers on the right hand relax. You should not grip so firmly that it hinders a fluid rotation of the wrist, which is really where strumming is focused, not in the grip. The problem of the pick getting caught in the strings is usually on execution of the upstroke. Heres a thought, try Mike Neers approach of not using a pick at all. This will help in developing the feel of strumming without the hinderance of a plectrum.

The grip has more to do with dynamics in the long run, ie: a firm grip for louder strumming, a softer grip for quiet strums. In the case of song endings etc. that the OP inquired about, these are generally louder strums, so a firmer grip is called for in this instance.

Hope this helps! Happy picking (and strumming of course). Very Happy

Clete

Andrew Roblin · From: Various places

Like Clete (and Buddy Wachter) said:

Hold the pick just firmly enough that it doesn't fall out.

If the pick does fall out: Good! Your grip is nice and relaxed.

Andrew

Bud Angelotti · From: Larryville, NJ, USA

I use an empty pack of matches. Can hold it wothout taking my fingerpicks off. Brush it across the strings like a flat pick.
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steve takacs · From: beijing, china via pittsburgh (deceased)

Thanks, Clete, Andrew and Bud. That clarifies things. This weekend i went, as I regularly do, to see a house R&R, Blues, Latino band ( Overdrive) only a couple blocks from my place. The guitarist is also an American from Pittsburgh, about 60. He only uses a small bit of the pick to whack the strings and there is little wasted motion; he seems to keep the hand anchored most of the time except when he picks quickly with the up and and down motion, but still keeps that hand close to the guitar. I'm aiming for this approach in my playing. steve t

Stephen Cowell · From: Round Rock, Texas, USA

Here's a cheat... pick up on the neck, where you physically *can't* use more pick. Use the fretboard to limit your pick depth... this can help you get the feel, so you can do it better wherever.
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Jim Robbins · From: Ontario, Canada

A couple tips that helped me from interviews I read

1. One big name rock player (whose name I forget) talked about doing tremelos as a warm-up to loosen up. I started doing that at the beginning of my practice routine -- unmeasured, start slow and gradually speed up. (The same thing works for the left hand -- warming up with some unmeasured accelerating trills gets you loosened up pretty fast.)

2. A monster mando player talked about thinking about the sound you want to get rather than the technique to get it. That's not to say you don't practice technique, but at some point you switch gears and focus on the sound and let your hands take care of themselves. I think that helps you relax.

Other things that worked for me: working on triplets over 6 note voicings of the chords to a song (I often use "All my loving"; go figure) slowly, with muted strings and exaggerated wrist movement, exaggerated accents on downbeats, and then doubling the time and evening it out. Accenting downbeats in a triplet pattern forces you to alternate accenting with downstrokes and upstrokes, which ultimately leads to more even playing. & yes, use a metronome at least some of the time.

Finally, when I'm practicing this I generally rotate the pick to use one of the rounded ends, mainly so as not to destroy picks. Even hard picks get ground down by regular tremelo practice.

Joachim Kettner · From: Germany

I've just listened to this John Lennon song. Incredible fast strums on this song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjoK9zewQms
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Andy Volk · From: Boston, MA

Check out Frank Vignola's teaching and performance videos. He's a master of full chord tremolo technique with flat pick. He built his technique up over a solid YEAR of practice.

https://truefire.com/list.html?store=audio_lessons&viewauthor=3424&item=3551
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