Thumb chunck?

I learned to chunk (somewhat) by accident while practicing chord progressions. I was able to reproduce the effect practicing chords but have yet to be able to successfully use it in a song where it sounds nice rather than forced, halting and clunky.

While playing around earlier today, I was strumming with my index finger as usual and holding my thumb in the same position as if I was holding a pick. I wasn't really paying attention to what I was doing and my strumming hand started rolling inward so my thumb was hitting the strings as I strummed giving it a chunking sound. Does anyone out there chunk with their thumb rather than with the pad of their hand? Is this chunking or some other technique? I'll have to play around with it some more but it seems to come to me more naturally than using the pad of my hand.

Aldrine can solve any problem:

http://ukuleleunderground.com/lessons/chunking/

Cheers.

Thanks for that video, I hadn't seen it before. All the other videos I'd seen about chunking were instructing the player to dampen the strings higher up, past the thumb using either the pad or edge of the palm. I was able to do it, but it feels more natural for me to do it with my thumb and I seem to be able to do it a little more consistently.

I have the worst strum technique on planet Earth so my chunking is quite individual....
I've got the bad habit of strumming with my thumb and forefinger in a position as though I was holding a pick.
So that I can get my forefinger nail onto the strings I tend to rotate and bend my wrist in a bit - even worse technique.
We play a lot of country and a lot of chunk and with my wrist in this position it's not the ball of my hand that stops the strings but the side of my thumb. So now I've got this mighty callus on the top thumb knuckle wher it joins my hand. Add that to the scar from the skier's thumb operation and the slight bumps from a bit of arthritis and I must look like the Quasimodo of strummers
Shoulda watched those vids when i got started ....l;-)

What you described sounds like what I accidentally discovered earlier today. I was holding my thumb and index finger as if I was holding a pick and dampening the strings with the edge of my thumb. It seems a lot easier and more natural than trying to use the edge of my palm. I'll have to play around with it a little more and try to develop some technique.

mikelz777 said:

What you described sounds like what I accidentally discovered earlier today. I was holding my thumb and index finger as if I was holding a pick and dampening the strings with the edge of my thumb. It seems a lot easier and more natural than trying to use the edge of my palm. I'll have to play around with it a little more and try to develop some technique.

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That's it. Can hurt after a few fast songs, though.