Using all four fingers for strumming down, and thumb for strumming up?

Hi folks,

Potentially silly question and apologies if this has already been asked. I have just started playing the uke, and am a bit if a fan of 'The Ukulele Teacher' on youtube. In his how to strum video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eqH_jZp1Ow) , he suggests we put our index finger and thumb together in a relaxed claw and then use all four fingers on all four strings while strumming down, and then the thumb on the way back up.. I find that technique easier to use than using just my index finger as is taught in MOST other videos I have found..

SO my questions are:

- Is this is an okay technique to continue using? I can't find any other resource where they teach this technique and I wouldn't want to spend all my time practicing it wrong..
- And if so, when I strum up, can I use the nail of my thumb? The Ukulele Teacher does not make that clear in his video.

Thanks in advance!

S.

There's traditional ways to play and some people stand behind them so much that they say other ways are 100% wrong, but my approach has always been to play however is most comfortable to you. To me there is no wrong way to play and everyone has a different style. The part that separates all of our styles is the strumming hand, so I'd say use whatever you like and along the way you will find different styles and tweak the strum, add new things, and put your own twist on it.

Use what's comfortable to you.
I use a leather pick at times, other times I use my index finger
Yet other times I use thumb and one it more fingers in a kind of
Flamenco/Rumba strumming pattern...
Point is: The wrong way to strum is what is uncomfortable and sounds wrong
If it's right for you, that's what matters

Thanks folks, that's really good to know. The claw / four finger strumming feels natural to me and sounds decent. I'll continue practicing. : )

S.

I agree with both of the above replies - do what is comfortable for you. I tend to use the nails of my two middle fingers on the way down, and the thumb nail on the way back up. And when I wrote that on here once before I got cries of "WHAT!!!!" from some. But it suits me, and when I have tried to use index finger up and down, or whatever else people say should be used, I get in a tangle and go back to the way I know.

Ah that's awesome! I felt so anxious about using my thumb nail for strumming up since most sources say to use the index finger flesh which just doesn't work! Thanks so much!

Hey YorkSteve, my strumming style (down at least) is opposite yours, ring and index fingernail down and thumb nail up

it takes all kinds, doesn't it?

and Kyle23, you got it... when everyone does their own thing (in tempo and rhythm at least), it adds to the overall sound...
and that's a good thing.

keep uke'in' everyone!

Well, I guess I'm outta step again. I was always taught to learn stuff the "correct" way as shown, and then, when you know what you're doin', you can do as you like.

Sometimes the "correct" way turns out to be the correct way. ld:

It depends on the tone you want and what techniques/styles you use or want to use. If you don't know what tone you want, or are looking to learn/use specific techniques, just go with what feels natural to you. I think the conventional way of up and down strumming with the index finger (nail down, pad up) gives you the greatest flexibility down the road, but using three or four fingers on down strums is an approach I also sometimes use when I want the fuller sound it yields. (Using the thumb for any kind of strums never worked well for me personally.)

Well, different strums for different thumbs. ld: