Strumming

Hi, I'm getting my ukulele in just a few days and I'm very excited! Quick question though as there seems to be no clear answer on how to strum the thing. Some things I read said the pads of the index finger on both down and upstrokes. Some said the fingernail on the downstroke but here's a problem - since I had teeth, I have been a compulsive nail biter. I didn't bite it down til there was nothing left but it's clearly bitten...will this effect my ability to do downstrokes if you have to strum with the fingernail?

No problem. Just strum with your index finger on the down and up. If there's a nail there, fine. If not, that's okay too!

JJ

Ukulele JJ said:

No problem. Just strum with your index finger on the down and up. If there's a nail there, fine. If not, that's okay too!

JJ

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Search ukulele strumming on you tube. In the end you strum how is best for you.

Here's yer chance to stop nail biting.

Get a set of buffers--this is a set of nail files that have an emery and finer emery ending with a leathery sort of buffer. Some kinds of buffers come in a single block with the buffer and smoother on each side, and you can get them at Sally's Beauty Supply or any similar type of place, even the drug store. They do not look girly and in fact, buffing is good grooming if you are a guy. (No polish needed.)

Start by evening out your nails. Then buff (you use the roughest part of the smoother on the nail surface, then another finer one, finally you buff to a shine.)

WHY? Well, the buffing brings blood to the nail bed and stimulates growth (so does sunlight, so a vacation in Hawaii is in order, however...the budget!) After a month of keeping your nails in order, you will have a small white part on the tip for strumming and you will not be biting because you won't have any loose bits to gnaw on and your obsession will have been redirected to buffing. Meanwhile, keep carrot sticks around for crunching on something to satisfy the oral part of the habit.

When nails are smooth and groomed, the impulse to bite is reduced. Whenever you feel the urge to gnaw, pull out the buffer and bring up the shine again and grab a baby carrot. Trust me, this will work. I keep my nails short even though they grow like weeds because my main instrument is a piano. I have to compromise with a eighth-inch length which is all I can stand on the keys (my master class teacher didn't want to see ANY white but she ain't around so ...) The buffer smooths the tips and really helps for strumming, the buffing adds thickness eventually to the nail for strength.

Give it a try.

The short answer is, yes. Strumming with the bit of nail on the downstroke and the pad of the index finger on the upstroke is possible. I actually stopped biting my nails when I began playing ukulele. It was difficult, but not impossible. Every time I found my nail in my mouth, I would think about how it would affect playing.

That being said, for strumming you only really need the index finger. Sometimes I wish I could selectively bite the nails of my left hand only, as those you will have to keep short for clean fretting.

Nevertheless, it is a great time to stop biting. Just think of all the gunk that gets transfered from your mouth to nail, and how it will end up on the uke (unless you get one with a plastic fretboard, which you can just wipe down).

Best of Luck!

Ex nail biter here too! Playing uke helped me too. Although LONG nails aren't necessary a little bit, particularly on the index finger does help. The buffing is a good tip, I use one myself but mainly on the actual nail edge to keep it smooth. I don't like the high gloss it gives to my nails though so if I do use it on the surface I skip the last polishing stage. Also don't overdo it as you can actually wear you nails thin.
Always carry a nail file so that you can immediately file of any tempting rough edges and maintain a zero-tolerance approach. No test nibbles or close examining to look for possible flaws. Just keep them away from the mouth no excuses (even to yourself).


The other thing that helped me was something called Inositol (google it) I took a little each day, usually dissolved in a cup of green tea or OJ and it seemed to help overcome the urge to bite. Possibly placebo - I don't know but I'm two years clean now!


Ramble, ramble - anyway, welcome to world of ukes. It's a whole lot of fun!

Some good advice above. Nail biting is just a "habit." You can really stop immediately if you want to. (I did after biting mine for 35 years). Perhaps uke playing will be sufficient motivation. You should decide what is more important, biting nails or playing uke better. Find some other "displacement activity" when you begin moving a finger toward your mouth. Set some rules about when it's appropriate to put your finger(s) in your mouth. Develop "self-talk" that corrects you when you are tempted to bite your nails. Continue to remind yourself of all the things that are more important than biting your nails. When you are nervous, grab your uke, or if you can't, a rubber ball. You will eventually break the habit. How quickly depends on your motivation. Good Luck.

PS: I'm a retired Masters Level Cognitive/Behavioral Counselor. PM me any time.

I face a similar problem. I teach martial arts on a semi-regular basis so I have to keep my nails kind of short (you don't want to claw someone by mistake). And while I don't keep them "nail biter" short they are pretty short. I have a hard time strumming for the first day or so after I trim them (maybe once a week). When I let them get to as long as I can really allow, I'm able to finger pick much better and the strum sounds better. Oh well we all have to do what we have to do. You'll figure out what works best for you. It does sound like a good reason to quit the habit though

When I started learning to play the uke (6th grade, 1960) I was a nail-biter. It didn't cure me, but
I no longer bite my nails. That forced me to 'strum' with my thumb. (less pain)

anyway, as for rhythm, I simply tried to mimic the rhythm/beat of the song I wanted to play. As
mentioned above, you'll eventually find a rhythm of your own which you will probably use to play
all your music.

Word of caution, somtimes you will need to experiment with new rhythms when your tried-n-true
method won't 'fit' the new song you're learning.

Other than this, Ralph Shaw has a DVD out on various ukulele strum techniques.

keep uke'in',

You sound like you may need some Tea Tree Oil Toothpicks
http://www.amazon.com/Tea-Tree-Thrpy-Toothpicks-Count/dp/B000S81XQ4
They're available at health food stores next to the toothpaste.
I started chomping these when I last quit the cigs, I still can barely drive a car without one..and my gum health has never been better.

Thanks y'all! I'll try some of those tips you mentioned and try to make a conscious effort to stop!

The tip about keeping the nail tips clean and even really helps.
If I find a burr or a chip in my nail, that's when the urge to peel or bite them comes in.

I'm curious to know if anyone strums with the "side" of their index finger?
Some of the videos I find look like they're strumming with both sides of the finger, and not the nail or pad. It could be a camera angle illusion or some fine 240P YouTube effect, but I wonder.

Getting a good 'strum' where all the strings sing is not as easy as Youtube experts make it look.

Cheers!

Hey guys, quick update and question...good news is I've started to catch myself biting my nails and stopping myself - never tried this before but so far so good.

Question: I'm a major fan of ska and punk and was wondering about upstrokes. For the mute on the downstrums, is the best way to go about that laying your pinky across all 4 strings? Or are there barred versions of each chord? Any suggestions?

RamblinWreck said:

Question: I'm a major fan of ska and punk and was wondering about upstrokes. For the mute on the downstrums, is the best way to go about that laying your pinky across all 4 strings? Or are there barred versions of each chord? Any suggestions?

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Here's what I do. Your mileage may vary.

First, if I'm playing a fast ska strum, I don't actually strum the strings on the downstroke. My finger just passes over the strings, not hitting them, to reposition itself for the next upstroke (which is strummed, of course).

To mute the strings after each upstrum, I would either barre all the chords as you mentioned (muting by "lifting off" a bit) or do a palm mute with my strumming hand. I haven't had much luck doing a pinky mute at that speed, but maybe I just have a slow pinky.


JJ

So I have had the Uke for a day now...man is it hard to strum haha. I've got some of the chords down but the strumming is really difficult for me so far. I'm not sure what to be doing with my thumb or index finger or whatever...maybe it just takes practice to get the height at which you are supposed to strum to get a clean sound?

In Hawaii, at the Royal Hawaiian Center, one of the aunties who teaches FREE lessons has her students strum with all fingers of a cupped strumming hand. That means leading with the pinky and generally ending with the index finger, mostly DOWN strokes. You could use your thumb(nail) for the UP stroke.

Later on, as you develop your rhythm, you can experiment with index finger alone, index finger and thumb, etc, whatever feels comfortable to you.

If any of you find yourselves in Waikiki on a Tues through Fri, between 10 and 11am, please visit Aunty Wainani (Tu and Thu) and Aunty Puakeala (Wed and Fri) and enjoy the smiles and general atmosphere of accomplishment as a couple dozen newbies learn to play the ukulele.

keep uke'in',

RamblinWreck said:

Hey guys, quick update and question...good news is I've started to catch myself biting my nails and stopping myself - never tried this before but so far so good.

Question: I'm a major fan of ska and punk and was wondering about upstrokes. For the mute on the downstrums, is the best way to go about that laying your pinky across all 4 strings? Or are there barred versions of each chord? Any suggestions?

Click to expand...

For me I find palm muting easiest on the up stroke, but I guess that is from me hammering out Somewhere Over The Rainbow for a year so I'm well attuned to it. I think just find what ever feels more comfortable for you and stick with that. If you come across another song later on that you feel it would be more effective for you to use another technique you can practice that then, but for now just learn the ones that come natural.

So I've been downstrumming with my thumb and upstrumming with my index finer and that's been working out perfectly so I'll proceed like that for now. Thanks for all y'alls help!