Thumb Strumming and Chucking Problem

So I think what's been really holding me back from learning a lot of songs on the ukulele is the fact that I can't chuck strum, which is part of a surprisingly large amount of songs. While trying to figure out why I couldn't seem to do it I read somewhere that it's almost impossible to chuck if you strum with your thumb. I strum with my thumb. :wallbash: For whatever reason it just seemed like the most natural way to strum, and now I figure I'll have to break that habit and strum with other fingers like I assume most people do. Problem is, no matter how many tutorials I watch I can't seem to strum with any of my other fingers. It's just... awkward for some reason. The only other strum I've been somewhat capable of doing is using all four fingers on the down strum and then my thumb for the up strum. The problem with that being that the alternation between fingers and thumb messes me up and eventually I just go back to strumming with only my thumb.

Now I have no idea what I should do. I could just continue to strum with my thumb and either completely give up on chucking or invent my own technique, or keep struggling to teach myself to strum differently and eventually learn how to chuck as well. This is really bothering me and I hope some of you more experienced players will be able to give me some sort of advice on what I should do. Thanks in advance

There are many ways to strum, and each has its advantages. You can keep your thumb strumming technique, while learning other ways to strum as well - each will give you new tools for making different sounds. I am no expert, but here are some ideas for you...

Use your index finger - some folks support it with the thumb as if they were holding a pick.

You can let your other fingers relax, but if you keep them comfortably curled in it puts them in the right position for other strumming techniques in the future like fan strums and rolls.

Make the strumming motion a rotation of the forearm rather than an up and down motion from the elbow.

On the down stroke point at the ground. On the up stroke, point at yourself.

Check out this Uke Minutes, and this one, and this one, too.

Take it slowly. Your arm and hand will develop the muscle memory for a clean strum, and then learning to chunk will be much easier. Good luck!

I used to strum with my thumb too! I thought to myself, "Hmm, chucking can only be done with the down strum motion..." So, I tried strumming down with a different finger, since it would kinda align my right hand for the chucking motion. In my case, it was the index finger. Now, I strum down with my index, strum up with my thumb, and chuck with my index also.

This is a good habit to get into, because you'll naturally be using your fingernails to "attack" the strings, which goes well with that chucking sound.

I took my ukulele with me on a two hour long car ride today just to practice strumming and what you guys suggested has helped me out a lot. Strumming as if I was holding a pick was actually a brilliant idea and I think I've gotten really good at it. Now I've been using my middle finger and thumb together, which shouldn't take too long to get the hang of, since I'm already used to holding picks that way when I play guitar. Strumming that way also makes a louder, cleaner, sound, which is a nice little bonus. I'm going to keep practicing for a few more days to get the hang of it before I try to learn to chuck again.

Thanks for all the help

His Sinfulness said:

There are many ways to strum, and each has its advantages. You can keep your thumb strumming technique, while learning other ways to strum as well - each will give you new tools for making different sounds. I am no expert, but here are some ideas for you...

Use your index finger - some folks support it with the thumb as if they were holding a pick.

You can let your other fingers relax, but if you keep them comfortably curled in it puts them in the right position for other strumming techniques in the future like fan strums and rolls.

Make the strumming motion a rotation of the forearm rather than an up and down motion from the elbow.

On the down stroke point at the ground. On the up stroke, point at yourself.

Check out this Uke Minutes, and this one, and this one, too.

Take it slowly. Your arm and hand will develop the muscle memory for a clean strum, and then learning to chunk will be much easier. Good luck!

Click to expand...

This is excellent advice, especially the highlighted text. Many folks who have played guitar tend to want to strum by moving the forearm up and down, bending at the elbow to do so. The strum you should practice would instead be a rotation of the forearm, as if turning a key in a lock, causing no movement of the elbow. Practice (eventually) makes perfect....

Thanks for your post, Ellis, and also thanks to others for their great advice. This may sound stupid, but I seem to need to be reminded to strum with my index finger. I seem to continually go back to my thumb.While some really like the sound made by the finger/thumb nail, I like the sound made with the flesh part. My wife strums with her thumb down and index finger up so she gets the soft sound she wants. I had not even thought about chunking and can now see that thumb strumming (only) would not work well for that. Thanks again for making an old guy think.

Not wanting to divert the thread but I can't say I've ever run across any songs that require chucking, let alone a large number of them. How does one know? I usually just strum away with whatever seems to fit.

Thanks for all the great advice everyone

It isn't stupid at all, Stan. I'll start off using my thumb and then go "No, no, you have to strum differently, remember?". It's just a matter of getting used to it, I guess.

I suppose songs don't absolutely require chucking, but it's recommended a lot. I haven't quite trained my ears well enough to be able to make up strumming patterns so when I want to learn a new song I'll either look up tutorials or covers and go from there. A lot of tutorials include chucking, as do a lot of the covers. And even if it's not necessarily required, it still seems like a neat little skill to learn.