Tips for a relaxed wrist when playing rhythm

[Keith T]

Hi Everyone,
Over the years, I suspect I’ve played rhythm guitar with a locked wrist, it’s become a habit unfortunately and It’s quite limiting. I’m struggling trying to develop my rhythm playing with a relaxed, loose wrist.
Just can’t get a comfortable, consistent position/technique.

I’ve looked at a fair bit of material online, but just wondering if anybody can recommend anything they have seen or tried that worked for them.

Any exercises you can recommend that develop a good technique?

What motion, generally, is it that the wrist is making when playing rhythm? Is it ulnar/radial deviation (side to side) or rotating motion like turning a screwdriver?

It’s a very underrated aspect to guitar playing, I think.

Thanks
Keith

[charjo]

Hi Keith,
Definitely a rotation of the forearm with a relaxed wrist and a relaxed grip on the pick. You need the forearm rotation to angle the pick correctly so it can glide over the strings. This entertaining fellow from Eastern Canada does a couple of videos on strumming that are really good ( and a great list of acoustic song covers on his site). I don’t think you’ll find any better information out there. I believe he goes over some exercises.
Slow strums involve a larger motion from the elbow and less of the forearm rotation. Faster strumming has a more limited range from the elbow and a greater degree of the forearm rotation.
Good luck.
John

[Mark H]

I like that guy. I finally learned a more authentic version of Lowell George’s “Willin'” from his video. Despite the fact Lowell was probably in open G tuning, the voicings I copped from his video didn’t require retuning and were much improved on my old version. Plus, as you say, he’s very entertaining.

[charjo]

He had me at “walk the chicken, walk the chicken”, (16th note strumming if anyone’s wondering).
John

[Keith T]

Thanks John,
A lot to think about there.
Interesting to see he grips the pick between thumb and middle finger, and often the grip between his thumb and index finger opens right up. But yes, I see the rotation of his wrist & forearm.

One other thing I notice – he’s manipulating his pick a lot.
I find myself doing this constantly, trying to keep it pointing in the right direction.
Is this common, or a sign I’ve got other issues?

Cheers,
Keith

[charjo]

I think it’s normal to have the pick rotate to some degree. Paradoxically, I think it moves less with a very relaxed grip.
I went through a phase of trying every pick imaginable and found that a 1 mm celluloid smooth pick works best for me for picking and strumming. Once I get a little sweat on the pick it tends to stay in place pretty well.
I wouldn’t experiment with thumb and middle finger as I think, for me, it would interfere with hybrid picking and possibly make muting more awkward.
John

[sunjamr]

Don’t forget Cory Wong, whose right hand flailing away at funk speed has been compared to a rubber chicken.

Like this:

Sunjamr Steve

[Mark H]

Maybe try using a thick pick, at least 1.5mm, equilateral triangle with rounded points. Trust me on this! I use Golden Gate. Guaranteed to work good on Strats, and/or Martins, or your money back!

Since our playing changes over time, I personally don’t obsess too much about pick positions or wrist angles, other than relax, and if it feels good keep doing it.

For me, the groove is one of the more important things in strumming. I realized very recently I was tending to overplay when doing rhythm in our duo, consisting of accordion (wife) & guitar (husband).

Having finally figured that out, I started to make myself underplay more. I mean fewer, but more ‘feely’, swipes per measure, breaking it up, leaving more space for your partner without losing time. Same thing applies when you’re playing and singing unaccompanied, leave space for your vocal.

A whole new world has appeared. We’re listening to each other, and ourselves, more. You have to trust your feel for the groove, it’s one of the keys to playing great rhythm.

As a kid I played a lot of hand drums, and at school, patting on the desktop waiting for the class to start, smacking on my legs making like I’m Buddy Rich on speed with an air drum kit (complete with an air overhead ride cymbal) from listening to my folks’ LP records. I’m sure it drove everybody crazy.

Nobody ever took it seriously when I said I wanted to be a drummer. So I eventually became a guitarist, no regrets about that, and I’m thankful I still feel that groove.

[Keith T]

sunjamr wrote:

Don’t forget Cory Wong, whose right hand flailing away at funk speed has been compared to a rubber chicken.

Like this:

“Just turn all the bones in your hand to cartilage” – wow!
That’s called Hitchhikers Thumb I think, where you can bend your thumb past 90 degrees.
Allows him to play off the back edge of the pick.
I had to slow it down to even see what was going on 🙂

[Michael K]

How about this guy

[Author]

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