Most everyone starts out by learning a few different guitar strum patterns on the guitar. Although the basic strum patterns are hard enough to master once you get them down you can really start to enjoy playing the guitar. If you want your playing to sound better than it really is it is time to master a few guitar strum patterns that will make your music come alive.
When you start strumming the guitar your patterns will consist of upstrokes and down strokes. An upstroke is when you move your pick toward you in an upward manner and a down stroke starts at the top and goes down. All of your guitar strum patterns will be some variation of this basic movement. When you start adding in variations and different timing patterns your playing will start to sound really good.
The more simple strum patterns usually consist of even up and down strokes. In this type of pattern everything is even with the strums being played not real hard or soft. Take the time to find the right balance and your guitar strum patterns should start to sound right.
Speed plays a big part in your picking. The tempo you play in has a lot to do with how your music feels. Try playing a simple pattern slow and then double the speed using the same pattern and you should feel a lot of difference in the overall feel of the music even though the strum pattern you are playing is exactly the same except for the speed of the notes.
When you feel you have mastered the basic strum patterns it may be time to move on to bigger and better ways to play. There are many ways to learn more advanced ways to play guitar. You can find a local teacher, buy books and videos in almost any style you can think of or go online and do a search for guitar strum patterns.
If you take the time to learn a few different strum patterns your guitar playing will come alive. You can play any style or type of music you want just by mastering the correct strum pattern.
Guitar strum patterns are one part of your guitar playing you need to spend time working on. The right hand is just as important as the left hand in guitar playing. Take the time to figure out the best way to learn and give the method you choose time to work and you should be making beautiful music before you know it.