Slap strumming basics (percussive rhythm technique)

Lesson #197 • Dec 7, 2018

Video Overview

Instructional PDF 3 pages

Follow along with the print-friendly PDF! It includes all of my notes for this lesson, allowing you to follow along at your own pace. You're free to download, print, and share the PDF across your devices.

Thanks for being a Premium member of Song Notes! Your support makes these lessons possible.

Download PDF

Follow along with the print-friendly PDF!

It includes all of my notes for this lesson, allowing you to follow along at your own pace. You're free to download, print, and share the PDF across your devices.

To download the PDF, upgrade to premium or log in.

Editor’s notes

In today’s lesson I am excited to talk about the “slap” strumming technique – which is where you’ll add a distinct percussive sound to your strumming motion via muting the strings with your strumming hand. This is something I struggled with in my early years of guitar playing, as I was fundamentally doing it wrong. With this video, I’ll break down the technique: the motions required, how to step into it slowly, and explain some of the gotchas and pitfalls you might run into. If this technique does give you trouble, just remember to be patient! Often, as with many things on the guitar, getting your muscles to do what you want takes a bit of time. Best of luck - let me know if you have questions, and please send along any requests for technique videos like this!

Understanding the muting technique

The first step in learning the slap strum technique, I think, is to position your strumming hand upon the strings just off the saddle of the guitar. Keep it there. Then, use your pick (in that hand) and play all of the strings. If you’re muting correctly, none of the strings should make a ringing sound – instead, they’ll all sound deadened and “muted”. Play around with your hand position if you have trouble here, while referring to my video. Getting this core technique down is the first step you’ll have to master.

Next, bring in a slow-motion strum

From here, the idea is to practice a single strum - but do it super slowly. The goal is just before your pick hits the strings, you want your strumming hand to land in that “muted” position - and then bring the pick into the strings. The goal is to, with practice, be able to do this in one fluid motion. It is tricky! As your arm, wrist, hand, and fingers (the ones holding the pick) are all doing slightly different things. For example, your arm will need to nearly stop in the muted position - but your hand and fingers will need to keep the pick moving in the direction of the strum.

Adding extra percussive oomph with your arm

A final step in the core technique, which may be tough - is to use your full arm to dial up the force at which you’re hitting the guitar strings. This allows you to dial up the volume of the “slap” that is heard. As I show in the video, you want to get comfortable striking your strings in a controlled, yet forceful way. If this gives you trouble, come back to it after you’ve mastered some simple strum patterns.

Now, try a simple strumming pattern

Once you can do this, it’s a good idea to bring in a basic strum. One idea is to do all down strums, one on each count (1 2 3 4). The goal is to do the slap strum on the “2” and “4” counts. As shown here:

d = down strum     X = "slap" (down) strum

1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
d   X   d   X

Spicing up the strumming pattern

Personally, I find the following pattern almost more natural to do (which makes it easier, somehow). You’ll want to move your strumming hand in continuous up & down strums on the 8th notes (down up down up down up down up). On the “2” and “4” counts, you’ll want do do a slap strum - note that these are both down strums.

d = down strum     X = "slap" (down) strum    u = up strum

1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
d u X u d u X u

From there, you can apply this to all sorts of strum patterns - but note you’re typically going to use this strum on down-strums, usually on the “2” and “4” count.

Good luck!

I hope this was helpful for you. As always, it’s best to see my video lesson for reference. Please let me know what questions you have, and until next time - best of luck!

Unlock My Secret Stash!

Gain instant access to my library of 195 print-friendly cheat sheets! Also includes my extended video lessons, jam tracks, courses, and more.

Join Song Notes Premium

Have questions? Watch video tour »

Browse Related Lessons

Click any tag below to view other lessons I've made in that category:

Enjoy my lessons? Buy me a beer!

If this and my other lessons have proven helpful to you, please consider making a one-time donation to my tip jar. Contributions of any amount help make this project possible (including the many, many hours I put into it).

Fun & Helpful Tools I've Made

Fret Monster

Interactive fretboard map! See the patterns behind every scale in any key.

View

Capo Captain

An easy way to calculate key & chord combinations, for any capo location!

View

Subscribe to my YouTube channel

Be sure to never miss a lesson by subscribing on YouTube. I put out 2-3 new videos every week. These include full song lessons, as well as covers, practice tips, behind-the-scenes updates. Thanks!


Recent Lessons

  • November 22, 2023

    10 Years of Song Notes... Thanks to You!

    A few quick words of gratitude for all the support & encouragement you all have given me over the past ten years!

  • November 17, 2023

    Guitar Finger Exercises for Flexibility, Control, Speed, and more

    Here's a handful of my favorite exercises to help with finger independence. Whether you're a beginner or been at it for years, baking these into your practice routine can pay off big time!

  • November 10, 2023

    Lead Guitar Improvisation Tips (feat. Wagon Wheel)

    Learn how to improvise, step-by-step! I'll show how you can play countless riffs over a small cluster of notes on the thinnest three strings. Tons of fun!

  • November 5, 2023

    Travis Picking Training Wheels (ft. Hayes Carll)

    I showcase a short & fun fingerstyle riff, where I demonstrate the "training wheels" trick you can use to simplify any Travis Picking pattern.

  • November 4, 2023

    Strumming with Alternating Bass Notes

    Learn how to strum any of the most common chords using alternating bass notes – which is an essential technique often used in country, rock, and folk songs.

  • November 3, 2023

    Long Black Veil

    Learn to play Lefty Frizzell's 1959 country classic in the style of Johnny Cash! Includes alternating bass note strumming tips & a melody deep-dive.

  • October 28, 2023

    St James Infimary Blues

    A refresh for my 2019 lesson teaching this blues classic! I updated my PDF guide and added four new zoomed-in playthroughs, showing tabs on screen.

  • October 21, 2023

    Fingerstyle Patterns for All Chords (using Travis Picking)

    I've taught tons of lessons using Travis-style fingerpicking, but haven't ever put together a cheat sheet showing patterns for every common chord... until now!

  • October 16, 2023

    Soulful Lead Guitar Licks over "Amazing Grace"

    Learn how to combine simple strumming with beginner-friendly lead guitar licks while playing this classic song! Slow playthrough video & jam tracks included.

  • October 11, 2023

    Helpful Tips for Hammer-Ons, Pull-Offs, and Bends

    Here's a Q&A video where I give some general advice on tricky guitar articulation techniques: hammer-ons, pull-offs, and bends. Here's where I'd start with each, and also what to avoid.

Browse All Recent Lessons →

Browse All My Lessons

By lesson type

By technique

By musical genre

By decade

By musical key

By popular artist


← back to homepage