When you strum a guitar, do you hit all the strings or just however many you need?

Question

i just got an electric guitar 2 days ago. Ive been looking at youtube and i see all these people playing fast and it looks to me like they hit all the strings when they strum the guitar. but when i look at the tabs and play them, i only hit like oe string for every number. Which way is the right way? And if you have any suggestions/ advice for a newbie guitar player, leave them here too. 10 points at stake. thnx a lot.

Answer 1

It's going to be personal preference.  As you progress, you'll find that you're forming your own style.  On slower songs, I actually pick some of the strings in conjunction with the full chords so I'm getting a lead with the rhythm.

Answer 2

You have to strum all of them

Answer 3

You play the notes in that chord. Like if its E Major, you'd strike all the strings, if it's D Major you'd only play the "First" four strings (d, g, b, and the high e) and so on. If you play notes that aren't in that chord, like if you played the low E and the A string in a D Major chord, it would sound bad and not like a d major chord is supposed to sound.

Answer 4

Most of the answers (so far) are wrong in one way or another. This is often the case in this Y!A category as so many beginners only THINK they know what is correct. You, however, ARE correct in the way you are reading/playing tabs.

There are several methods employed in chord notations to indicate which strings are to be plucked/strummed or avoided altogether.

In block form (the little grids with dots) an "x" means to avoid the string altogether, while an "o" (the letter, for "open") or 0 (the figure, for "zero" [unfretted]) both mean to play the string open/unfretted (duh!).

The same is true for the numerical chord form (654321). An example would be: C major chord = x32010. This method works for chords up to the 9th fret, then the double digits get messy unless you indicate a fret number for a barre chord, i.e., 5/x32010, which would mean you barre at the 5th fret and play the  C chord.

What you're seeing in a YouTube video is that the player might actually BE strumming/plucking all the strings, but some of them have been muted. This is accomplished by using a finger or the palm of one's hand to lightly touch the string(s) to be avoided so as to render it "mute." As you know, if a string is not clearly fretted and allowe dto resonate, no clear sound will emanate.

Example: when playing a C major chord, using the ring finger on the A string at the third fret, allow that finger to actually touch the low E string, then strum. You shold NOT hear the low E string. Try it!

Good advice: Learn all these methods. Tab will not suffice if you ever hope to go pro because professional musicians do not use tablature. Like every other musician, they read standard notation. Learn how to read music! You will never regret it.

My best advice for newbies is just two things:

Practice. What seems impossible to play one day may eventually flow like a river. I have a T-shirt that says, "Go home and practice!" on it. No matter how old or accomplished my students are, I constantly harp at them to practice. Sometimes I even have to yell at myself.

Learn from others. Join a players forum on the net. There are tons of free lessons in chat rooms and many sites from which to choose.

Here are a few of them (the acoustic sites work for either electric or acoustic):

http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forum...

http://www.guitarsite.com/hotlicks/

http://www.acousticguitar.com/ubbcgi/Ult...

www.guitarsite.com in general is an excellent resource. Go wade through it!

In addition to talking with other musicians, you should play with as many people (different styles, different genres, etc.) as possible. There is something to be learned from everyone, even if it's what NOT to do.

Then of course, there's YouTube, which can be very helpful. I use it myself. but this is just one more example of learning from others.

One last word or warning-- guessing at what is right, or sounds okay is fine in certain situations (like improvisation), but even with over 40 years of playing guitar behind me, I still can be mistaken. People hear (or don't hear) things differently.

Thanks for this very good question! Many people will learn something today because you had the brains to ask!

Good luck!

Kabum

Answer 5

You hit all the necessary strings on the down stroke and just a few on the up stroke... all guitarists do that.

Answer 6

When you strum a guitar you hit the strings depending on which chord you are playing.

For example:

If you are playing an E chord you hit all of the strings.

But if you play an A chord you only hit the strings from the A string down. (only 5 of the strings)

And if you play a D chord you only play from the D string down. (only 4 of the strings)

It is very important to play it from the root note because it gives it a better and more whole sound.

Answer 7

It depends on what you're trying to do.  If you're strumming rhythm chords, you'll probably want to strum all the strings. If you're picking out a solo melody, or playing arpeggios (chords played one string at a time), you'll usually only want to hit one string at a time .

Basically you strum or pick the number of strings you need to get the sound you want.

Answer 8

just do what sounds right.

if you are playing by tabs, you only play the string with the number on it. if it is just blank then you dont play that string.

Answer 9

I think you have to strum all of them. Your right wrist should be upright, the one that's playing on your strings, and the other wrist pressing down the strings should press them down hard, otherwise it won't make a good sound. Sit up straight and play your guitar on your chair and put one foot on a footstool and use the other foot for tapping the beat. Make good, clear sounds and put feeling into the music you play. Then you'll be a rock star.

Answer 10

Just the ones I need. Some chords include all the strings some don't. Look up chords.