A dental assistant by profession, Luca Simmons pursues a variety of active hobbies in his free time. Luca Simmons particularly enjoys playing the guitar.
To strum a guitar skillfully, a musician must learn both mechanics and artistry. Good mechanics depend on proper use of the arm, from the shoulder to the fingers. The fingers' job is to hold the pick, between the thumb and index finger, in a way that the pick points to the left when held straight out in front of the body.
The guitarist may hold the pick at whatever angle feels and sounds good, so long as the arm is relaxed. Many beginning players either lock the wrist and use the elbow to strum, while others stiffen the elbow and overuse the wrist. In either case, the player must learn to initiate from the elbow but keep the wrist loose, so that the motion is long and smooth.
Beginning musicians can practice this technique at the same time they work on the downstroke and upstroke. The former requires the musician to strum through all six strings, while the latter can skip the bottom one to three strings. Because performing both motions in quick succession can be challenging, many new guitarists choose to practice each in isolation before combining them.
As the guitarist becomes more comfortable with the strum, he or she can start to introduce patterns, such as down-up-down-up or down-down-up-up. These exercises help the guitarist to strum with consistent rhythm, while providing options for more musical playing.
