Tremolo picking

assuming you're playing with a pick, you can angle the pick a little bit to make the upstroke much easier.
 
Did you grow out your thumb nail? That was my biggest issue. I didn't have a thumb nail and I didn't know why I couldn't tremolo. I decided to grow it out and then I was able to do it..
 
I know this is going to sound sarcastic but, just keep on trying. I spent a good 3 weeks getting irritated because I couldn't do it. One morning I picked it up... Lo and Behold... there it was. I don't know what I did differently but now I'm getting pretty okay at it.
 
have you checked my youtube about the tremolo?

umm basically keep practising man.. other tip that works for me is.... dont grow your nail too long!! trust me.. just like 1-2mm out is fine..
just pick it with the start of the nail where the skin meets..
well it works for me.

hope that helps
 
berylbite said:
I actually do not play with a pick. For the mean time I'm just going to keep practicing.
Click to expand...

that is all you really can do! grow your thumb nail out aswell helped me.

I know this is a cliché but practice make perfect!

Happy strumming

-Don :nana:
 
I have trouble doing tremelo with my thumb. I can do it fine with my index finger though.
 
I am an absolute novice, so this might be a totally dumb question - but here goes - would it help with tremolo's to use a thumb pick as used by banjo players ? Or would this cause too many other issues ? I know that there are both plastic and metal picks available and the plastic can be trimmed to an appropriate length - are they ever used by uke players ?
 
One of the Banjo Inst. where I take Uke lessons will play around on a Uke with his fingerpicks, last time I saw him do it he said he was lookin to get a Banjo Uke.
 
I swear I saw a video of Herb Ohta Jr. with a thumb pick... but Youtube is blocked at my school so i can't get to it right now. I could be wrong.

But as far as getting tremolo down, i think you should take it mindnumbingly slow with a metronome only gradually getting faster. If you can't do it slow, you can't do it fast and you'll probably just strain yourself.

When doing it slow you can concentrate on get the notes evenly as well as concentrating on your motion and how your wrist is moving. Eventually when you do it enough, you'll find you'll be able to do it really fast.
 
MiaRosie said:
I am an absolute novice, so this might be a totally dumb question - but here goes - would it help with tremolo's to use a thumb pick as used by banjo players ? Or would this cause too many other issues ?
Click to expand...

You can use a thumb pick to do tremolo, but I wouldn't. Just keep working on using your nails. I have been playing for three years and I've got a lot of things dialed, but I'm still working on tremolo...

MiaRosie said:
I know that there are both plastic and metal picks available and the plastic can be trimmed to an appropriate length - are they ever used by uke players ?
Click to expand...

Yes, a lot of players use them. Uncle Herb, David Kamakahi, Brittni Paiva... I used one for a while. All they do is let you play more parallel to the strings. Try one out - they are kind of cool, just beware of being sucked in and having to use one all the time. Then when "it's uh-oh I forgot my thumb pick" you're kind of in trouble:eek:.
 
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