Q&A for How to Strum a Guitar

It's not necessary to use a pick, depending on what type of sound you're trying to produce. However, if you go into a good shop and look at the array of different picks that can be bought, you will see there are more sound variants available that cannot come from finger strumming only.

You would strum between the two metal bars on the body of the guitar. Those two metal bars are called pickups, and they convert string vibration into electrical symbols for education.

Start with basic chords. As you progress through different stages of learning, you'll be ready for more complex chords.

Play both slowly, and there is your answer; upstroke, high to low and downstroke, low to high. Of course, if you are strumming with your right hand, the reverse is true.

For D, the correct way is starting from the D string (third lowest-sounding string), and muting the lower two strings with your thumb. So E=x, A=x, D=0, G=2, B=3, e=0 (or 2, this has a brighter sound).

Usually, it's better to use your wrist, because your arm can get tired easily.

Make a loose fist, then use the side of your thumb to strum chords or pluck single strings. This is the way I do it anyway, you should do whatever is most comfortable for you.

Yes, just strum a little bit harder than normal.

That depends on the song. If you want a fun pop feel, maybe not. See what sounds best.

It depends on the chords, there really isn't any formula to know. For a C chord you'd mute the top string, but for the G chord you wouldn't mute any, for example.

There will either be a strumming pattern described at the start or there will be arrows to indicate which way to strum. If there is neither, it's up to your own judgement (but you may want to listen to other guitar versions of the song to see what they do).

Keep trying––the final results are worth it. Try playing with someone who is familiar with guitar and who can help you as you play together.

Using the fleshy part of your thumb, execute the same motion with your thumb as you would with a pick.

Use your middle finger (nail) to strum down and your thumb (nail) to strum up. There are other ways to do it, but that is what I found comfortable. Some people shape the fingers like holding a pick, and some just use their thumbs (which is fine for downstrokes, but upstrokes can be awkward).