Uke Minutes 2 - Strum

Aldrine teaches one of the best ways for beginners to learn a pretty standard strum. Since everyone has their own way of strumming, we want to see the way you strum your uke.
 
strum with thumb??

Question: Anyone out there primarily strum with their thumb like I do? It works for now at least... Being self taught, I didn't really know until it was too late, that my thumb strumming was not what everyone was doing....

Does anyone know if thumb strumming will make it difficult to advance my skills....should I break the habit??
 
Question: Anyone out there primarily strum with their thumb like I do? It works for now at least... Being self taught, I didn't really know until it was too late, that my thumb strumming was not what everyone was doing....

Does anyone know if thumb strumming will make it difficult to advance my skills....should I break the habit??

IMO you should break the habit of just using your thumb. when you experiment with the use of other fingers, you will start to notice the different tones you can make. same with picking. depending on the song, the tone of the note may sound better with your thumb or you nail on your index finger.

try out other strums and your playing style will be more versatile.
 
IMO you should break the habit of just using your thumb. when you experiment with the use of other fingers, you will start to notice the different tones you can make. same with picking. depending on the song, the tone of the note may sound better with your thumb or you nail on your index finger.

try out other strums and your playing style will be more versatile.

Thanks Nuker..will do. You advice makes sense. I hate developing bad habits when learning new skills. One of the down sides of not taking lessons when I first started I guess...
 
Thanks Nuker..will do. You advice makes sense. I hate developing bad habits when learning new skills. One of the down sides of not taking lessons when I first started I guess...

its not so much the lack of taking lessons. i never really took lessons either. especially in strumming patterns. youtube is a great resource. study how the strums sound. then look at the strumming techniques. then dont be afraid to try it out. you might not get it at first. but then again, thats what www.UU.com is for hahaha. remember it took me a couple months of trying to do a triplet strum. i finally broke down and asked the guys here. and within two days, i nailed it.
 
Question: Anyone out there primarily strum with their thumb like I do? It works for now at least... Being self taught, I didn't really know until it was too late, that my thumb strumming was not what everyone was doing....

Does anyone know if thumb strumming will make it difficult to advance my skills....should I break the habit??

just to let you know, i also strum with my thumb but in combination with either my index or ring finger (ya ring. i know its weird lol). but i usually like to keep my strumming soft so that it doesnt disturb anyone so i tend to use the pad of my thumb for the down strum and the pad of my index for the up strum.

but i also strum with my finger nails using my index's nail on the down strum and my thumb's nail on the up strum.

im sorry, aldrine, but the proper strumming pattern to gain 30 lives on contra is up,up,down,down,left,right,B,A,start... or ...B,A,select,start if you are playing in a duet.

tsk tsk. you should know better. :D
hahahaha or lotsa konami games for that matter. liked that little note about the matrix strum haha. also really liked the end of the video, the ukulele underground logo and the lil animation. thought that was cool
 
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Question: Anyone out there primarily strum with their thumb like I do? It works for now at least... Being self taught, I didn't really know until it was too late, that my thumb strumming was not what everyone was doing....

Does anyone know if thumb strumming will make it difficult to advance my skills....should I break the habit??

I know a lot of ukulele players that strum with their thumb. It's all personal preference. It's a lot harder to do the fast "matrix" strums that Aldrine and Jake do with your thumb though.

Also I added that "Matrix Strum" comment, but any of you guys can, and should, add your own comments to our video. All you have to do is sign up for an account at viddler.com and then come back to our site when you're logged in and you can add those comments throughout the timeline.
 
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