Strumming patterns and a question

what are some of the basic strumming patterns? also it is ok to strum how i strum? i strum with my index finger going up so pretty much up strokes are down and down are up. is that ok? please answer

Well, my first response would be that if it sounds good to you and you are OK with how you strum, then that's really all that matters.

I can't answer about the basic strumming patterns, though. I'd like to know some myself.

Here's a PDF with some basic strumming patterns:
http://www.ukemaker.com/ukeclub/media/StrumPatterns.pdf

As far as your strumming goes, whatever sounds and feels best to you is fine. There aren't many rules here. As long as you're having fun, that's the main thing.

I agree that whatever works works. But if you are just beginning, I would try to use down strokes on down beats. If you stick to doing the opposite, I suspect you will run into problems as you try more complicated strumming. Just my $.02.

i now have another question =( sorry im a uke nub... but we are all noobs at the beggining i guess.sooo anyway/ i have heard people saying to strum at the bottom of the neck. or should i strum right by the hole in the middle

thatguywiththeukulele said:

i now have another question =( sorry im a uke nub... but we are all noobs at the beggining i guess.sooo anyway/ i have heard people saying to strum at the bottom of the neck. or should i strum right by the hole in the middle

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You'll get different sounds from strumming different places. Generally, you want to strum at about the 12th fret.

seeso said:

You'll get different sounds from strumming different places. Generally, you want to strum at about the 12th fret.

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Generally you want to listen to whatever Seeso says, because he is the man....just sayin' :music:

phanzo said:

Generally you want to listen to whatever Seeso says, because he is the man....just sayin' :music:

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LOL! I'm wrong a lot. I'm no expert.

seeso said:

LOL! I'm wrong a lot. I'm no expert.

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Yea but you are RIGHT a lot more

Sorry to divert from the post. When I was first learning, I scoured the internets for videos and just watched how they did it (Seeso was actually the first person I ever saw in a video). So I would just watch them and try to model my style after theirs. It's all about feel. Nothing is exactly right and nothing is purely wrong either. Just feel it out. As long as YOU dig the vibe you're putin out, then youre good to go. Just my :2cents:

This might be of some help if your lookin for some strums to learn.
The thing is figuring out which strums work with which songs that is the hard part.
http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5889

Something that I have figured out is that with out a backing band some of the "Right" strums make a song sound wrong.

Example is Bob Marleys "Get Up Stand Up"
it's a 1 chord song Cm and the strum is (rest D U rest D U )

seeso said:

You'll get different sounds from strumming different places. Generally, you want to strum at about the 12th fret.

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The reason for the 12th fret idea (which comes up a lot) is that it's about the middle of the strings. Looking from one end (nut) to the other (saddle), strumming the middle will get you the most response. As you get along with playing, you'll hear a difference when strumming nearer/farther from the sound hole.

For myself, I'm still new enough that I tend to strum where ever my index finger reaches. So long as I hit the strings instead of the box, it's golden.

As long as you know your chords and can change from chord to chord smoothly without looking at your fingers, just keep time with the music, and if you happen to hear a beat/ rhythm you like, try to copy that sound.

The first priority, however, is to learn your chords and get smooth at changing chords without interrupting your beat/rhythm.

I'm an advocate of always working on strumming (patterns) LAST so that you're not frustrating yourself by trying to learn too many things all at the same time.

http://www.4shared.com/file/123858410/4f4615dc/Free_Songbook_Master.html

Keep uke-in',

freedive135 said:

Something that I have figured out is that without a backing band some of the "Right" strums make a song sound wrong.

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Bingo!

That's why there is rarely "one true, correct" strum pattern for any given song. Quite simply, there's usually no uke in the song to begin with! You might as well ask what the trombone part is for "Back in Black".

And even when there is a uke, there are usually other instruments playing along with it, so if you just play the uke part by itself, you're missing a lot of what the song is doing.

So any solo ukulele strum pattern is really a special arrangement of the song. It's an attempt to distill elements of the full-band version down to just you and the ukulele. After all, you can't play everything in the original version. You gotta make choices.

Ah, but which elements to you keep and which to you toss? What parts are the most important and/or interesting? Which elements do you change to better fit the new circumstance of the uke?

That's where judgement calls, artistic interpretation, taste, and your own playing ability come into play. And since these factors are different for everyone, the "correct" strum pattern will be different for everybody.

JJ