Strum

Silly question here...do I have to stick to a given strum pattern throughout the song? Or is it ok to change things up? Like when I'm playing Fly Me to the Moon...when I start getting into it, I seem to change the pattern a bit in spots, and then I get louder or even faster. Sounds funky to me, but am I breaking a musical rule? Will someone with an ear for music ask, "What the heck is he doing?"

On another note (hahaha), sometimes I find I'm strumming with all fingers on down stroke, and thumb on the up. Is that acceptable? Still learning. Slowly, but surely. Thanks all!

Simple answer is no. Variety is the spice of life, but too much variety can sound muddled. I hesitate to recommend any particular technique as everyone develops their own style. My best advice is to listen to a few versions of a song you want to practice and see if you can discern a strum pattern - if you like it use it, if not then see what you can do that works.

Fly Me To the Moon is an interesting song because it was originally written in waltz time (three beats to the bar) and was titled "In Other Words", but the version most of us know was re-titled "Fly Me to the Moon" and given a Bossa Nova rhythm (pairs of four beat bars). You might get some ideas by googling for "Bossa Nova ukulele strum pattern", but as ever you don't have to follow them! My general rule of thumb personally with Bossa Nova songs is I tend to emphasise the up-strum in almost all but the first beat of the bar, but also mix it up quite a bit too.

I found Ralph Shaw's DVD on strumming techniques helpful. Unhelpfully his website is being re-done at the moment, but it looks like you can buy from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Strums-Ukulele-Ralph-Shaw/dp/B000A2RVUK . It's reviewed here: http://ukulelehunt.com/2010/06/09/essential-strums-for-the-ukulele-dvd-by-ralph-shaw-review/ I can recommend Ralph Shaw's "Complete Ukulele Course" on DVD too.

Don't be afraid to break the rules! Making music is a creative activity, don't follow formulaic rules, but express yourself, experiment, do what sounds or feels good to you. Any computer today can play music perfectly, with flawless timing no human can match. But that music lacks soul, it's sterile.

I sometimes do down strums with two or three fingers, too, if it sounds good, though I up strum with one or two fingers, but thumb is of course fine.

Stay playful.

Unless you are playing along with someone else - if it sounds right & feels good then it is.

Rules are good to get you started - but made to be broken.

I get a little carried away strumming, maybe. I like to strum to the lyrics. So that it emphasis the rhythm of the song, but makes the Uku 'sing.' I started this when I realized that 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4 was kinda boring. It's a bad habit as it kept me from learning finger picking. Up is different from Down and you don't have to hit all the strings with the same intensity. There are lots of different ways to strum and some are better than others. I say try them all!

I've been playing less that two years, and still not very well, but I have fun with my Uku's.

I attended a Ralph Shaw workshop, and he suggested using more than one strumming pattern in a song, such as one pattern for the verses and a different one for the bridge.