Subvocalising whilst strumming?

Hi all,

I'm trying to get my head around a tricky strum (tricky for a beginner like me anyway) and I'm noticing that because I find the rhythm quite tricky I'm saying "down thumb up down thumb up down thumb down thumb up down thumb up down thumb" to myself in my head. My tongue is even moving around in my mouth as if speaking the words, I'm even visualising them written down. This wouldn't be too much of problem, but it's inhibiting my speed - the voice in my head wants to go slower than I know my hands can.

Does anyone else have this problem?

Any tips for breaking the habit?

Thanks.

yookyoolayleeh said:

This wouldn't be too much of problem, but it's inhibiting my speed - the voice in my head wants to go slower than I know my hands can.

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In my opinion, you're already on the right track. Maybe try slowing down your playing to accommodate your vocalizing at first. Saying it while playing it will help you tremendously because the saying and doing simultaneously will help you memorize it much quicker. I think the more ways we can feed in information to our brain, the easier learning becomes.

Once you're comfortable with the strum at a slow tempo, play along with a metronome at the same tempo. Then see if you're able to play it without vocalizing it. Then try it without the metronome. The idea is to take away one element at a time until you're comfortable just feeling the strum pattern and playing it. It's a training wheels approach, but it works.

I concur.

When I was learning the triplet it felt very awkward... at first. It took some time, but now I can throw it in whenever I feel the need.

There's a saying, "In the beginning everything is hard". Muscle memory, finger dexterity, etc. Just think, if all right-handers had to learn how to strum left-handed, and vice-versa, I'll bet we could all do it with the appropriate amount of time and practice. Just look at all the "Jake-like" renditions of "While My...Weeps". In a sense, if any one of us can do something, we could all "do" it as well, again, with the appropriate practice and dedication.

Keep strummin', in a little while, it will feel natural.

Thanks for the tips and reassurance guys. I followed your advice and slowed down a little - until the slow strum became automatic. Then I watched the guy's youtube video again a few times to get a better feel for the timing and gradually increased my speed. Then something interesting happened - the "down thumb up down thumb up down thumb" in my mind began to change into a "da du uh da du..." - and that allowed my speed to increase further. Then something really interesting happened - that eight-part strumming unit started to feel like a single extended unit - almost as if my arm knew what to do without my mind needing to tell it.

Now I'm getting somewhere. I just need to figure out the timing, and then to understand how come the youtube guy's strum has so much life compared to mine.

Thanks again.

bongofury said:

In my opinion, you're already on the right track. Maybe try slowing down your playing to accommodate your vocalizing at first. Saying it while playing it will help you tremendously because the saying and doing simultaneously will help you memorize it much quicker. I think the more ways we can feed in information to our brain, the easier learning becomes.

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Saying while doing can be very, very helpful. I was working on a Jazz piece with a lot of strange chords in a row. I found I had a much easier time remembering the chords when I sang along than when I just played it without singing.

In the end I was able to take the singing away and just play it. It is very satisfying to finally "get" something that used to seem so far away.