Upward strum - ugh

[5stringdave]

Folks, how can i make my upstroke sound as clear and good as my down?

Do i take the pick straight across the strings?

Or do i rotate my hand at the wrist for pick angle?

What's the trick here - help?? And thanks !! ....... Dave

[Doug Hoople]

You can't.

You can get it closer, but your upstroke will never be the same as your downstroke.

[Malcolm G.]

Welcome Dave.

Try searches on Mike Marshall. He has some excellent videos for those just starting out.

[John McCoy]

Dave,

Are you talking about single notes or multiple-stops?

== John ==

[OldSausage]

If you mean when you're strumming across several strings, Doug's right that it will never sound quite the same because the high strings sound first, but you can get it to sound strikingly similar. I use the exact same pick angle that I use for a downstroke, that is with the front edge (leftmost) edge of the pick angled slightly downward. Keep your right hand nice and relaxed and do not grip the pick hard. Push clean through all four strings with an inch or 2 of follow-through both on the down and up strokes. You may need to practice it for a long time, but you can make the sounds you want to hear.

[5stringdave]

Thank you all - i saw that i held the pick straight up ( for some reason?) and i was digging in some strings and missing others, only on the upstroke interestingly enough. I am just trying to do guitar-style strumming with songs to practice chord changes.

Dragging the tip just a bit hs smoothed it out, but still need to practice training the hand - but practice is fun right? ( yes!)

....dave

[Ivan Kelsall]

Dave - Your 'up-strum' is possibly fine already,it simply sounds so different than a downward strum. Even on Guitar,i find that a down stroke sounds fine - smooth,musical etc.,but hitting the strings coming up sounds jangly,but i know it's not. Somehow an 'up-strum' sounds 'unfinished'. Just remember to keep your pick grip pretty loose,
Ivan

[Doug Hoople]

Dave - Your 'up-strum' is possibly fine already,it simply sounds so different than a downward strum. Even on Guitar,i find that a down stroke sounds fine - smooth,musical etc.,but hitting the strings coming up sounds jangly,but i know it's not. Somehow an 'up-strum' sounds 'unfinished'. Just remember to keep your pick grip pretty loose,
Ivan

With an up-strum, the notes sound in a different order, so a multi-string up-strum can't possibly sound like the down-strum. Not sure that multi-strings is what the OP had in mind in the first place, but we have sort of drifted onto it here.

If you want to hear a really killer up-strum, have a listen to David Grisman's recording of the Django Reinhardt tune 'Anouman' on his 'Mondo Mando' album. When he strokes back on all four strings, fretting 2-0-0-0 at exactly the right place, it brings you to the edge of tears. He couldn't have gotten the same effect with a down-strum.

[5stringdave]

well i am sheepish to admit that because i am hitting the strings from a different direction it WILL sound different - hadn't thought if that! but i found that i was digging in too much.

thanks all.....have some good direction to work with!

[Malcolm G.]

You're gettin' it!

Angled, thicker pick, held loosely.
If the pick wants to rotate in your hand, don't grip it tighter - try increasing (or decreasing) the angle of attack. At some point it all gets stable - and sounds better

[bwachter70]

I have the same problem. I just had to keep at no matter how bad it sounded until it came out right

[Canoedad]

Is your saddle completely straight? Even a slight dip in the center of a straight saddle makes for digging in. I learned this when I picked up my starter craiglsist Fender after 3 three months with a better instrument. The Fender now seemed so hard to strum cleanly. I thought, this just doesn't make sense. Then I looked closely at the saddle. It was sunk just a tad. Man what a difference that makes in strumming. Of course it was sunk when I played it originally. I just didn't know any better.