Fingerstyle vs Strumming

NeciaPL

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What style do you prefer : fingerstyle or strumming ?
 
I like both. Why limit yourself? You know, you can even combine them if you want.
 
Fingerstyle. I don't sing, and strumming becomes very boring very fast when one isn't a singer (in my humble opinion, anyway).

Exactly.
Have you heard me sing? Play Guava Jelly and your ears will hurt
 
I can't carry a tune in a bucket so strumming is out for me unless I am in a group and someone else is singing. So it is all finger style, all the time for me.
 
Strumming is okay for a short while, but it gets boring awfully quickly, even with singing. Most people seem to stick close to open position, and I can see why. Trying to form anything but the simplest chord shapes further up the neck requires extremely thin and nimble fingers! :) As a result, all songs begin to sound the same because the chord voicings never vary. Fingerstyle maximizes the limited range of the instrument.
 
Fingerstyle. I don't sing, and strumming becomes very boring very fast when one isn't a singer (in my humble opinion, anyway).

Ditto.

I once tried singing. Four men were lost and the stock market went down 27%.
 
As a non-singer, I prefer fingerstyle, or strumming while picking melody notes between strums. Got to have the melody...
 
I like playing both ways. I can sing with either. But I have to admit....as a guitar player, the reentrant tuning on a ukulele really threw me for a loop when it comes to fingerstyle. -esp for my thumb, lol. I almost put a low G on my uke, to fix that problem, but I don't like to give in. I got it worked out.

Sorry for all my grammar errors. I'm typing this from my phone...and I'm a lazy typist on my phone.
 
I like playing both ways. I can sing with either. But I have to admit....as a guitar player, the reentrant tuning on a ukulele really threw me for a loop when it comes to fingerstyle. -esp for my thumb, lol. I almost put a low G on my uke, to fix that problem, but I don't like to give in. I got it worked out.
I like to play both ways as well. As a singer I have to dumb down, KISS it. when I'm singing. Singing and playing the melody line at the same time (doesn't work for me.) -edit. I will take a break between verses for the complex tasty stuff.

...I prefer fingerstyle, or strumming while picking melody notes between strums....
this works for me.
 
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I started with ukulele because I wanted to accompany my singing. If I want to play melody, I have other instruments that I play that are essentially melody instruments.

I mostly strum but do finger pick on some songs. Strumming is about providing the rhythm for the music and you need to adapt your strumming to the natural rhythm of the song. While singing, it's best to keep it simple. After all the focus should be on the song and interpreting the lyrics but it is possible to vary the strum between the verses to provide interest in the accompaniment. George Formby was a very good example of this.

The person who said strumming rapidly becomes boring even when singing, I suspect is not looking to adapt his strums to suit the song and the rhythm of the song and to find ways of providing an interesting accompaniment. You can also provide interest by mixing strumming and fingerpicking in a song and also adding in melodic fragments, especially in introductions. I confess, I'm not very good at melodies on the ukulele. Though I know or can work out where all the notes I want are, I've not played much melody so can't play quickly enough to play a melody at the desired tempo for a song. When I finger pick I simply play arpeggios. It works for me at the moment, but I aim to keep on improving but it's not a quick process.

No. 1 rule. Have fun. I do that but I don't really push myself too hard. I simply aim to learn things as and when I need them for a particular song.
 
I like to do both. However when combining both methods I have trouble transitioning from one to the other. It's nice to strum along with tunes, t's also nice to pick. I'm working on Ave Maria, I certainly wouldn't attempt to sing that lovely tune, but the pick strum combo is really beautiful. Everyone have a Healthy and Happy New Year.
 
When I finger pick I simply play arpeggios.

Aha! So that's what they call what I do. Or try to... It's almost the melody but not really. Didn't know it had a name but I like it. Fingerstyle with melody next unless I've learned too many bad habits.
 
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