Strumming

[peev]

I really have the hardest time strumming upward strokes! Either I miss a few strings or the pick feels like it's gonna fly right off my fingers! What am I doing wrong? Am I too timid with my strumming or do I have to use softer picks? I really prefer using .8 or thicker picks... anything softer feels like I'm just slapping the strings instead of actually picking them. Any help?

[gck]

oh well, I REALLY know how you feel right now!! When I was starting out, I had exactly the same problem and I thought I'd rather be a pure lead guitarist and never bother with rythm...

however, it all came with practice. I'm really sure there is no trick behind it, I just practiced and it gradually "came".

Just get a metronome and look at the "Basic Strumming Patterns" in the First Fret section @cyberfret. Practice these patterns with a metronome, at speeds of your choice. It's actually easier to get a clean strumming motion if you are a bit faster and use more force, but with a little practice you can even strum very slowly and soft.

About the pick gauge: it's really just personal preference, I play lead and rythm with Dunlop 2mm jazzpicks... With practice, you can get also get very soft strums with heavy gauge picks. But choose a pick gauge that seems appealing to you, just experiment around...

[smfulla]

Yep, just keep practising man. That's what it's all about. Goodluck =]