View source for Strum

{{short description|Way of playing a stringed instrument}}
{{Other uses}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2018}}
[[File:Guitar strum on open G chord base pattern.png|thumb|right|350px|Guitar strum {{audio|Guitar strum on open G chord base pattern.mid|Play}}: base pattern on open G tuning. Strumming is used to create a chord. Many patterns are created through subtracting beats from this base.]]
[[File:Guitar strum on open G chord common pattern.png|thumb|right|350px|Guitar strum {{audio|Guitar strum on open G chord common pattern.mid|Play}}: pattern created by subtracting the second and fifth (of eight) eighth notes from the base, above.]]
[[File:Backbeat chop.png|thumb|right|350px|[[Ska stroke]]<ref>Snyder, Jerry (1999). ''Jerry Snyder's Guitar School'', p.28. {{ISBN|0-7390-0260-0}}.</ref> {{audio|Skank on Em64.mid|Play}}: features [[damping (music)|dampened]] staccato [[Beat (music)#Downbeat and upbeat|upbeat]] downstrokes.]]

In [[music]], '''strumming''' is a way of playing a [[stringed instrument]] such as a [[guitar]], [[ukulele]], or [[mandolin]]. A '''strum''' or '''stroke''' is a sweeping action where a [[finger]] or [[plectrum]] brushes over several [[Strings (music)|strings]] to generate [[sound]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/strumming|title=Definition of STRUMMING|website=www.merriam-webster.com|language=en|access-date=2018-06-22}}</ref> On most stringed instruments, strums are typically executed by a musician's designated '''strum hand''' (typically the musician's [[Handedness|dominant hand]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://hubguitar.com/articles/left-or-right-handed-guitar|title=Should You Play Left-Handed or Right-Handed? {{!}} Hub Guitar|website=hubguitar.com|access-date=2018-06-22}}</ref> which is often responsible for generating the majority of sound on a stringed instrument), while the remaining hand (referred to as the fret hand<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.guitarplayer.com/technique/fret-hand-fitness-four-wicked-workouts-to-develop-your-digits|title=Fret-Hand Fitness: Four Wicked Workouts to Develop Your Digits|work=GuitarPlayer.com|access-date=2018-06-22|language=en-us}}</ref> on most instruments with a [[fingerboard]]) often supports the strum hand by altering the tones and pitches of any given strum.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.playableguitar.com/left-handed.html|title=Right-handed and Left-handed Vs Right and Left Hand Guitars|access-date=2018-06-22}}</ref>

Strums are often contrasted with [[pizzicato|plucking]], as a means of vibrating an instrument's strings. In plucking, a specific string or designated set of strings are individually targeted to vibrate, whereas in strumming, a less precise targeting is usually used. Compared to other plucking techniques, any group of strings brushed in a single sweep by a plectrum could be considered a strum due to the plectrum's less precise string group targeting (however, a plectrum might simultaneously pluck a small group of strings without being considered a strum). In contrast, a musician could utilize a technique with more precise string group targeting (such as a [[fingerstyle]] or [[fingerpick]] technique) to pluck all the strings on a stringed instrument at once and this would still be considered a pluck, not a strum.

==Notation==
{{multiple image
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 | align = left
 | direction = vertical
 | header = There are a variety of methods for writing strum notation.
 | image1 = Strumming arrow notation.png
 | caption1 = Arrow notation
 | image2 = Strumming du notation.png
 | caption2 = Letter notation
 | image3 = Strumming classic notation.png
 | caption3 = Traditional notation
}}
{{clear}}

==Strumming patterns==
A strumming pattern or strum is a preset pattern used by a [[rhythm guitar]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Strumming patterns for the Ukulele |url=https://www.ukulele-tabs.com/strumming-patterns.html |access-date=2023-02-20 |website=Ukulele-Tabs.com |language=en}}</ref> For example, a pattern in [[common time]] or {{music|time|4|4}} consisting of alternating down and up eighth note strokes may be written:
:{{mono|1&2&3&4&}}
:{{mono|dudududu}}

===Rock and pop===
The pattern most typical of rock and related styles is:
:{{mono|1&2&3&4&}}
:{{mono|d du udu}}

The final upstroke is sometimes omitted altering the strumming pattern slightly to d du ud. This pattern is often called "Old Faithful",<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sandercoe|first1=Justin|title=Justinguitar.Com: Rock Songbook|date=2013|publisher=Music Sales Ltd|location=London|isbn=978-1780386874|page=69}}</ref> or when played on ukulele, the "Island Strum".

Examples of other strumming patterns include:<ref>{{cite book
 | last = Dix
 | first = Bruce
 | year = 2011
 | title = You Can Teach Yourself Country Guitar
 | isbn = 9781610654869
 | pages = 19–26
}}</ref>
*Single down strum: {{mono|d d d d }}
**[[Elvis]]' "[[Burning Love]]"
**[[Kathy Mattea]]'s "[[What Could Have Been]]"
*Boom-chicka: {{mono|d dud du}}
**[[Merle Haggard]]'s "Silver Wings"

===Jazz and funk===
The simple four-to-a-bar rhythm is associated with [[jazz guitarist]]s such as [[Freddie Green]], although they may subtly vary the rhythm of a chord on some beats to add interest.

A simple eight-to-a-bar (8 eighth notes) rhythm is known as "straight eights" as opposed "[[swing (music)|swung]] eights", in which each pair are played in a rhythm that resembles the first and third notes in a [[triplet (music)|triplet]].

The fretting hand can also mute the strings on the fretboard to damp a chord, creating [[staccato]] and percussive effects. In [[reggae]] and [[ska]], a few staccato "chops" are played per bar. In [[funk]] rhythm playing, the strumming hand keeps a fairly steady motion in [[16th note]]s, while the left hand, basically holding down a [[jazz chord]] damps some of them in a [[syncopated]] pattern.

==Fingerstyle strumming strokes==

Some of the many possible [[fingerstyle]] strums include 
* A slow downstroke with the thumb. This is a ''[[Dynamics (music)#Sudden changes and accented notes|sforzando]]'' or emphatic way of playing a chord.
* Light "brushing" strokes with the fingers moving together at a near-perpendicular angle to the strings. Works equally in either direction and can be alternated for a chord tremolo chord effect.
* Upstrokes with one finger make a change from the standard downstroke strum.
* A "pinch" with the thumb and fingers moving towards each other gives a crisp effect. It is helpful to clearly articulate the topmost and bass note in the chord, as if plucking, before "following through".
* [[Rasgueado]]: Strumming is typically done by bunching all the right-hand fingers and then flicking them out in quick succession to get four superimposed strums. The rasgueado or "rolling" strum is particularly characteristic of [[flamenco]].
* Turning ''p-a-m-i'' tremolo plucking into a series of downstrokes. This is a lighter version of the classic rasgueado, which uses upstrokes.

==See also==
*[[Harmonic rhythm]]

== References ==
<references/>

{{Guitar picking}}
{{Guitar techniques}}

[[Category:Accompaniment]]
[[Category:Guitar performance techniques]]