Strum

In music, strumming is a way of playing a stringed instrument such as a guitar, ukulele, or mandolin. A strum or stroke is a sweeping action where a finger or plectrum brushes over several strings to generate sound.^[2] On most stringed instruments, strums are typically executed by a musician's designated strum hand (typically the musician's dominant hand,^[3] which is often responsible for generating the majority of sound on a stringed instrument), while the remaining hand (referred to as the fret hand^[4] on most instruments with a fingerboard) often supports the strum hand by altering the tones and pitches of any given strum.^[5]

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Strums are often contrasted with plucking, as a means of vibrating an instrument's strings. In plucking, a specific string or designated set of strings are individually targeted to vibrate, whereas in strumming, a less precise targeting is usually used. Compared to other plucking techniques, any group of strings brushed in a single sweep by a plectrum could be considered a strum due to the plectrum's less precise string group targeting (however, a plectrum might simultaneously pluck a small group of strings without being considered a strum). In contrast, a musician could utilize a technique with more precise string group targeting (such as a fingerstyle or fingerpick technique) to pluck all the strings on a stringed instrument at once and this would still be considered a pluck, not a strum.

A strumming pattern or strum is a preset pattern used by a rhythm guitar.^[6] For example, a pattern in common time or ⁴
₄ consisting of alternating down and up eighth note strokes may be written:

1&2&3&4&

dudududu

Some of the many possible fingerstyle strums include

• A slow downstroke with the thumb. This is a sforzando or emphatic way of playing a chord.
• Light "brushing" strokes with the fingers moving together at a near-perpendicular angle to the strings. Works equally in either direction and can be alternated for a chord tremolo chord effect.
• Upstrokes with one finger make a change from the standard downstroke strum.
• A "pinch" with the thumb and fingers moving towards each other gives a crisp effect. It is helpful to clearly articulate the topmost and bass note in the chord, as if plucking, before "following through".
• Rasgueado: Strumming is typically done by bunching all the right-hand fingers and then flicking them out in quick succession to get four superimposed strums. The rasgueado or "rolling" strum is particularly characteristic of flamenco.
• Turning p-a-m-i tremolo plucking into a series of downstrokes. This is a lighter version of the classic rasgueado, which uses upstrokes.

• Harmonic rhythm