Triple Strumming technique

Brenda Wong

Brenda Wong

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Triple strumming seems to be very popular among the advance player. I happened to come across this video .

There are lots and lots of very good clips in Japanese, Korean and Chinese language. Some comes with free tabs .

You don't have to know the language to understand the technique.
To me , he is the least confusing . Check it out.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNxO9R0LZDs
 
James Hill breaks down the triple strum nicely. It's really how you set up your hand. I do index finger followed by thumb on the down stroke, and index finger on the upstroke. There's the rhythmic component too, you need to make sure it is a true triplet and not something like 2 8th notes followed by 16th notes. It also helps if the other fingers are flayed out, vs tucked into the palm, as it frees up your index and thumb. This is all from James Hill the ukulele way, I also ordered the ukulelezaza books and I believe he breaks down the triple strum too.
 
Thank you for sharing. It is indeed a clear demonstration.
 
Recstar24 said:
James Hill breaks down the triple strum nicely. It's really how you set up your hand. I do index finger followed by thumb on the down stroke, and index finger on the upstroke. There's the rhythmic component too, you need to make sure it is a true triplet and not something like 2 8th notes followed by 16th notes. It also helps if the other fingers are flayed out, vs tucked into the palm, as it frees up your index and thumb. This is all from James Hill the ukulele way, I also ordered the ukulelezaza books and I believe he breaks down the triple strum too.
Click to expand...

Yes and good it is as well , but to be fair his style is his style and just ONE way of doing it ....there are a number of ways of performing a triple and one method will suit somebody better than another....

The rest that you do is completely opposite to what I do.:p funny old world isn't it...I keep fingers tucked in for triple stroke and then let them out for fan....but whatever works ,works.

e.g / triple fan triple fan / triple fan fan triple / split split split split / for a flash burst then back to a simple finger strum...

or combos of the two ....... But ...that's just the way that suits me.....My triples are:

finger thumb down thumb and forefinger back together

OR FF T down and FF back up..

Or FF T down and Thumb back up.....as long as you get that delicious triple trill sound all is good....:shaka:;)

and roll your wrist .

Your Own Way is The Way .... take what has gone before and make of it what you can and will...There is zat Then enough;)
 
Kayak Jim said:
I haven't really incorporated it into my playing as I'm not exactly sure where it fits.
Click to expand...

A typical use is as a rhythmic "run-up", played on the beat before an important one (like the start of a musical phrase). It sort of announces "here it comes, folks."
 
Kayak Jim said:
That's how I do it as well. I haven't really incorporated it into my playing as I'm not exactly sure where it fits.
Click to expand...

I think that the triple "fits"more into the world of the Soprano and the stylings of Formby,Smeck ,Ike etc....although not exclusively ...

I have watched the video of Kimo Hussey doing a demo at a uke shop and playing Hawaiian music , (not my Forte) and he has a fairly slow and lazily relaxed triple which he uses to great effect to achieve a different feel to the three above.
 
Agree. This is a very clear, easy to follow lesson. Now if I can get my hand to agree! :rolleyes:
 
CeeJay said:
Yes and good it is as well , but to be fair his style is his style and just ONE way of doing it ....there are a number of ways of performing a triple and one method will suit somebody better than another....
Click to expand...

There is not a single part of my post that implies or conveys that is the only method. Of course there are other methods, all are fine and dandy. I was simply sharing the method of a particular player and educator, who happens to be very well though of. We use his ukulele in the classroom and some of my advanced students use his ukulele way, that was the main logic behind post, not to say that was the only method (which clearly I don't).

That also reminds me how everyone plays the ukulele a little different. With my own students, I share with them what I think is solid technique, that which will not cause pain, and be the most efficient way of musically expressing whatever they are trying to do, but many of my students find other ways of making it comfortable for them that look weird but sound great, and I tell them good job for being resourceful. For example, we had song presentations the other day and one kid used his thumb to bar the d chord (2220). It looked odd, and I didn't teach him that, but he transitioned smoothly into it and out of it, his was the best sounding d chord of the kids who had d in their song, and I thought it was cool he found a way of doing it for his own comfort. Considering this is a 7th grader it's even more
Impressive.

And so goes the triple strum. I'm sure the ukulelezaza books will show it a different way, and my own private teacher (Matt dahlberg) will teach me his own way. I'll assimilate all three and maybe find a different way that will reach my 7th and 8th graders.
 
I think the beauty of Ukulele is that you don't have to follow any specific method like Piano or even Guitar. You just strum at your own style as long as the beat is correct and it sounds close enough to the original song.
Having said that, I still think finding the correct strumming pattern is the most challenging.
People (on youtube) often talk about up up , down down ......it just went way over my head.
This Korean teacher strumming demonstration somehow made it easier to 'retain' in my head so I decided to share that's why I picked the 'Uku beginner forum'. I am sure it's nothing new for the more advance players.
 
Recstar24 said:
There is not a single part of my post that implies or conveys that is the only method. Of course there are other methods, all are fine and dandy. I was simply sharing the method of a particular player and educator, who happens to be very well though of. We use his ukulele in the classroom and some of my advanced students use his ukulele way, that was the main logic behind post, not to say that was the only method (which clearly I don't).

That also reminds me how everyone plays the ukulele a little different. With my own students, I share with them what I think is solid technique, that which will not cause pain, and be the most efficient way of musically expressing whatever they are trying to do, but many of my students find other ways of making it comfortable for them that look weird but sound great, and I tell them good job for being resourceful. For example, we had song presentations the other day and one kid used his thumb to bar the d chord (2220). It looked odd, and I didn't teach him that, but he transitioned smoothly into it and out of it, his was the best sounding d chord of the kids who had d in their song, and I thought it was cool he found a way of doing it for his own comfort. Considering this is a 7th grader it's even more
Impressive.

And so goes the triple strum. I'm sure the ukulelezaza books will show it a different way, and my own private teacher (Matt dahlberg) will teach me his own way. I'll assimilate all three and maybe find a different way that will reach my 7th and 8th graders.
Click to expand...

I feel like I've been chastised for saying something wrong :confused:but I'm not sure what....I may be wrong (I usually am :eek:)

Ultimately we seem to agree at the end of your post but in getting there you seem to have taken offence in your first para(I think ) at what I wrote ,but then demonstrated examples of what I said ...


It was an observation , not a criticism ...if it came across as any other then blame the coldness of the written word read on a computer screen and be assured I am quite relaxed about your position vis a vis James Hill and his method ....I am in fact signed up to the James Hill site the Ukulele Way ....

Unless of course I am reading your written word on a computer screen the wrong way ....in which case ...Oooops..My Bad.

This just seems to be yet another one of those times when someone who "can do " offers help and gets it thrown back at them...:eek:ld:


Sorry to have some experience , I'll keep it away from view......oh except for this....I applaudyour lad who frets with his thumb...I don't know why people get alarmed or upset with thumb fretting ....Balalaika (tuned EEA nose to toes ) players fret the two E strings with their thumb and play the melody on the A string ....now what other instrument tends to play a lot of the melody on the A string.....oh yes the Third Wave of Popularity Ukuleleists....:smileybounce:
 
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No harm no foul! I simply didn't want others or the original poster to think I was claiming a particular pedagogy over another, and was simply sharing it in addition to all the listed ways here.
 
Recstar24 said:
No harm no foul! I simply didn't want others or the original poster to think I was claiming a particular pedagogy over another, and was simply sharing it in addition to all the listed ways here.
Click to expand...

yes we were coming at the same result from different directions and had a bit of a fender bender on the way..no probs..sweet as a nut.....:rock:
 
CeeJay said:
I think that the triple "fits"more into the world of the Soprano and the stylings of Formby,Smeck ,Ike etc....although not exclusively ...

I have watched the video of Kimo Hussey doing a demo at a uke shop and playing Hawaiian music , (not my Forte) and he has a fairly slow and lazily relaxed triple which he uses to great effect to achieve a different feel to the three above.
Click to expand...
I can see where this would work for a ballad like Mac the Knife.

play the melody on the A string ....now what other instrument tends to play a lot of the melody on the A string.....oh yes the Third Wave of Popularity Ukuleleists....
Click to expand...
Banjer plunkers do this all the time.
 
IamNoMan said:
I can see where this would work for a ballad like Mac the Knife.

Banjer plunkers do this all the time.
Click to expand...

Didn't think the banjer had an A train...I mean string...GDGBD...I thought ....though I feel I am about to be disabused of this notion :D
 
I got the ukulelezaza books in and man does this guy know how to triple strum. The formby influence is strong! He also does a variation of a triple strum known as a roll where it's 4 hits in a 3 beat, basically a triplet follows by a vigorous down strum all within a normal triplet.
 
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