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| Moderated by: Tony Provencher, Richard Hefner |
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| Strumming | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: Thu Apr 23rd, 2009 04:46 pm |
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1st Post |
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dAndy1288 Approved
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Before I got my ukulele, I did a lot of searching for videos of uke playing. One thing I didn't notice then was how the people in the videos strum. I have had my uke for almost two weeks, and I never gave it a second thought. I just picked it up and strummed with my thumb. Since then, I've noticed that using the index finger seems to be much more common. I'm sure its not a big deal, so long as you can make it sound nice. But, are there techniques that I might come across later that will be easier if I learn to strum with my index finger rather than my thumb? Or, are there other reasons to strum with the index finger besides personal preference?
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| Posted: Thu Apr 23rd, 2009 05:15 pm |
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2nd Post |
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Jim Yates Approved 
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I am relatively new to the uke, but I have been strumming down with the nail of my middle "bird" finger and back up with my index. There seems to be a variety of ways of strumming and playing. Some folks use a rubber or felt pick and clawhammer playing seems to be quite popular. I have a question about strumming as well. In the Youtube video of George, Paul and Ringo playing Ain't She Sweet in Candlestick Park, George plays some triplet strums. I've been trying (with very limited success) to imitate him by strumming down with my middle finger and up with my index and then my middle. I'm having trouble getting anything like the speed that he gets. Am I on the right track? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5k-OE0-fWs Last edited on Thu Apr 23rd, 2009 05:18 pm by Jim Yates ____________________ Jim http://www.myspace.com/jimyates http://www.myspace.com/kirbyandyates http://www.myspace.com/kirbyyatesmazurek |
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| Posted: Thu Apr 23rd, 2009 11:31 pm |
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3rd Post |
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Cosmic_penguin Approved
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Obviously everyone plays differently, but the most common stroke i've come across is down for the thumb, and index finger for up.
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| Posted: Fri Apr 24th, 2009 06:07 am |
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4th Post |
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Will Approved 
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Play your uke in a manner that feels comfortable for you. I only use my thumb when I play the uke (so does Ohta-San). On autoharp, I use only a thumbpick, with no fingerpicks. On guitar, I wear a Herco thumb-flatpick, which is a teardrop shaped flatpick with a loop, worn on the thumb. When I don't use a pick, I play guitar with only the bare thumb.
____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ A Bunch Of Coconuts http://abunchofcoconuts.com |
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| Posted: Fri Apr 24th, 2009 09:33 am |
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5th Post |
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bertiebeetle Approved
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If you want to get into any of the fancier strums, you'll find a lot of them are based on index-finger-down actions. Strumming with the index finger nail gives a sharper sound. With the thumb, you'll get a softer one. With that George Harrison clip, he's using down-up with the index, and those really fast 'triplets' are done inserting an extra beat with the thumb following the index down (index down, thumb down, index up) This seems to be the most common triplet stroke, and goes a long way in jazzing up any uke piece. George also breaks into the Formby-style 'split stroke' a few times. This is a syncopated stroke all done with the index finger (check out You-tube for tutorials on how to do it). Other than that, as someone said, the uke is such a young instrument, anything goes with strum patterns.. Noodle around and if it works, use it.
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| Posted: Fri Apr 24th, 2009 08:57 pm |
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6th Post |
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salty dodd Approved 
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Here is Jake teaching the triplet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymJX8Iza3YQ
____________________ best, Salty |
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| Posted: Fri Apr 24th, 2009 09:36 pm |
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7th Post |
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Jim Yates Approved
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Thanks Salty, That's just what I need.
____________________ Jim http://www.myspace.com/jimyates http://www.myspace.com/kirbyandyates http://www.myspace.com/kirbyyatesmazurek |
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| Posted: Sat Apr 25th, 2009 03:27 am |
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8th Post |
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holleyhall Approved 
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I had the same issues and was real hard to do on 12 string so I use flat pick 99% of the time. though fingerpicking and strumming is truly an art that takes time to really master.
____________________ http://ezfolk.com/audio/holleyhall |
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| Posted: Sat May 2nd, 2009 10:28 am |
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9th Post |
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artcrocker Approved
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My 2 cents worth on strumming. When I started playing I had heard that the most common strum method was with the forefinger only, so that is what I use. It works well, you get a lot of volume out of the nail, however it does wear the nail down a bit. I do a thumb down and fingers up when I want to soften up the sound. Using the thumb only as Will mentioned sounds interesting. However I just tried it and found it difficult on the upstroke. So using thumb only gives you the nail sound on the upstroke? Wanted to add the UkeHunt will be putting out an ebook on strumming sometime next month. Other than strum patterns I would guess the technique will be covered.
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| Posted: Thu May 28th, 2009 08:01 pm |
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10th Post |
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Bikewer Approved
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You can also use a technique that's essentially the same as "frailing" a banjo; using downstrokes with index or middle finger to strike single notes.
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| Posted: Fri Jun 12th, 2009 01:42 am |
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11th Post |
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hdxtheo Approved
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Hi, Bikewer: Could you please explain your "frailing" a bit clearly? First of all, this word in verb form can't be found in the dictionary. Do you mean that "frailing banjo" is same as clawhammer style? Thank you in advance.
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| Posted: Fri Jun 12th, 2009 02:52 am |
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12th Post |
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banjo brad Super Moderator 
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hdxtheo - Check out Richard's Clawhammer Uke tutorial. Yes, "Clawhammer" = "Frailing" = "Down Stroke" = "Stroke style" = "Whamming" = "Knock Down", etc.
____________________ ezFolk Help Brad Prickly Pear Music Banjo Brad's ezFolk page TOTMC |
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