Strumming

Playing the guitar requires a lot of coordination. While one hand is pinching down the strings and different points on the neck of the guitar, the other hand is responsible for making sure the note is played. This can be very tricky, because you cannot keep yours eyes on both hands at the same time. Although you may want to focus on the neck where your hand is fumbling to hit the right notes, you also feel the need to look at the other hand which is trying to maintain tempo and accuracy.

The act of plucking the strings proves to be a lot more complex that it seems. Whenever I see a cartoon rendition of a guitar player, they seem to be striking the strings without much concern for accuracy. Broad sweeps up and down the strings miraculously produce singular notes and melodies, which doesn't really make sense. Melodies and singular notes require the player to hit a string with one hand in conjunction with pressing down the same string with the other hand. If one insists on broad strokes that hit all six strings, you will be hearing six different notes playing at the same time. If the objective was to hear a single note, then it becomes buried underneath unnecessary noise. Therefore, it is important that the hand plucking the strings is selective in which strings they strike, and making sure the unwanted strings do not ring.

Usually, broad strums are useful when playing chords, as opposed to notes. Chords are simultaneous notes played together on the different strings at the same time. There are numerous combinations of notes that, when played together on different strings, compliment each other. This provides a fuller sound, with the multiple strings vibrating together in harmony. The hand that is responsible for hitting the strings needs to be selective when playing specific notes or melodies, but also be able to hit multiple strings when called upon as well.

The other aspect of strumming is the maintaining of tempo. While one hand prepares the string for the correct  note, the other hand is needed to provide the proper vibration. Only when the string is struck, will the note be heard. Therefore, in the context of a complex song, the strumming hand must be able to not only hit the correct string(s), but also hit them at the right time. If the strumming hand is late or early, the song loses its pace and throws it off track. Both hands need to be able to work at the same time, which takes weeks if not months to fully achieve.