Come Out and Play Gallop Strum

Hi Mike- I'm struggling a bit with the galloping strum during the verse for guitar 1. My pick seems to be fighting me on the up-strum by creating a lot of friction, almost feeling like it's getting hung up between strings. I'm using a 1.5mm pick and I've tried angling it, but still not getting a consistently smooth strumming pattern. Any suggestions?

Hi thanks for the question! This is a really tough part because the tempo is fast and the upstrokes come at tricky spots in the strumming pattern.

The feeling of the pick fighting you on the upstrokes is common - I feel this too. You have to compensate by adding a bit more force from your wrist and forearm to get the pick through the resistance.

The biggest suggestion I can give is to practice this strumming pattern very slowly with lots of repetition. It only will get smoother with more and more repetition at slower speeds.

When going slow, you can concentrate more on getting those upstrokes to be consistent with the downstrokes, and it will be easier to focus on applying the right amount of upward force to the upstroke to keep things smooth and in time.

I hope this helps - let me know how it goes!!

Mike

I think I practiced this song a hundred times before I finally got it, practice, practice, practice!

Thanks Mike! I appreciate your quick response and advice that I can work with.