This post started out with a two-fold purpose: to recount my experience learning the island strum – as a way of encouraging folks who are getting frustrated; and to describe a method for mastering this very common accompaniment tool.

I ran into trouble with the first part.  I wrote that learning the strum was like learning to ride a bicycle: it seems impossible at first and can be a struggle, but the transition from “off” to “on” is accomplished quickly once it finally happens and then becomes second nature.  After sitting with this for a few days, I realized that maybe this was wishful remembering.   I remember, many years ago, feeling frustrated trying to get there, i.e. getting to a state of familiarity and comfort with the island strum.  Now I am there, more or less.  I am a middling strummer generally, however.  My hands sometimes don’t follow my brain.  The nice thing is that this doesn’t cause a problem: what my hands end up doing sounds ok (sometimes even better than what I set out to do), and it doesn’t seem to bother the people I am playing with.  Anyway, the details of my passage over the not island strumming / island strumming divide is lost in the mists of time.  What, then, to offer in terms of words of encouragement or wisdom?  I have no wisdom (of course), but can observe that it seems that everybody gets there eventually, or develops a workable alternative. Let’s all try to maintain that balance of enjoying where we are and working to get to where we want to be. 

I also had problems with the second part of this post.  I realized that a words-only description of my process is likely hard to follow.  Some pictures and diagrams would help, but these are currently farther up my web design learning curve.  Better still to be elbow to elbow with you, demonstrating, observing (but not too intently – it bothers people sometimes in lessons when they are aware that I am staring at their hands as they try to play!), encouraging, and suggesting.  You have an open offer for this, but in the meantime I will share my outline.  Writing it helped me think more clearly about the steps and will make me a better teacher, I hope.

Start with more basic strums.  Find a simple song you like in 3/4 (also known as “waltz”) time that has a strong, regular rhythmic pattern to it, Down in the Valley, for example.  Begin with “down down down” strumming.  Instead of singing the words, sing the beat count, i.e. instead of “down in the valley” sing “1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3”.  Note that “down in the” takes up three counts – “1 2 3” (one number per word); and the two syllables of “valley” get three beats each.  

As you sing-count, emphasize the 1 each time it comes around.  Do this until it gets so familiar and easy that you get bored with it, then switch from counting to singing the lyrics.  Next, try “down-up down-up down-up” with the same song at the same pace (or slowing it down a bit).  To keep track of the “1 2 3”, it may help to tap your toe so that it matches the down strums, emphasizing the 1 each time.  If you are new to up-strumming, it will take a while to get consistent contact with the strings on the way up.  Pay attention to this.  With the “down-up, down-up, down-up” strum, your left hand has to move quicker to get a clean transition between chords when you change from one to another.  Don’t worry if the transitions sound a little ragged (you may discover that some of these ragged transitions sound interesting – enjoy this!).  You may want to switch back to singing the numbers for a while.  

After all down-ups, the next step is to start skipping some of the “up”s.  For example, instead of “down-up down-up down-up”, try “down down-up down-up”.  Your toe should be tapping in the same way it tapped to the “down-up, down-up, down-up” pattern.  Your right hand should be doing almost the same thing, also.  The only difference is that on the way up after the first “down” the right hand is not engaging with the strings.  Imagine a person across the way from you with noise-canceling headphones, trying to figure out by watching your right hand whether you are strumming “down-up down-up down-up” or “down down-up down-up” and not being able to tell.  Try other variations, e.g.  “down-up, down-up, down” or  “down-up, down, down”.  Don’t be in a hurry.  Expect it to take several sessions, and you can be pleasantly surprised if it takes less than that to get comfortable changing the chords and singing the song with these strums..  If you can stand it, keep going with one pattern after you feel you have mastered it and until you start to feel impatient, and then go a little longer with it.  

The next significant transition is to try a pattern in which one of the downs is skipped: “down … up down-up”.  The ellipsis (i.e. the “ … “) is there to indicate the missing down, which is when you are counting (and/or your toe is tapping) “2”.  As with the un-strummed ups in the earlier strums, your hand is still moving over the strings on the 2 count – this time in the down direction – but it is not touching the strings.  For many folks this starts to feel like trying to rub your stomach and pat your head simultaneously.  Again, take your time.  If you get frustrated, go back to some of the earlier strums.

Now start the process over in 4/4 time instead of 3/4 time.  Start over, really?  In a way, yes, but the goal is in sight: retracing your steps through this slightly different landscape will be much easier than the first time.  Instead of a specific song to work with, try using a single chord or chord progression, C C C C or F F F F C7 C7 C7 C7 F F F F C7 C7 C7 C7 or C C C C F F F F C C C C G7 G7 G7 G7 for example.  Start with groups of down strums (in the chord progressions, 4 for each chord before switching to the next one), then groups of down-ups, then groups with a pattern that has some missing ups, for example “down, down-up, down-up, down-up” or “down, down-up, down, down-up”.  Remember to keep your strumming hand moving up and down the same way regardless of the pattern.  Tap your toe if it helps.   After a while, add songs to the progressions you are practicing with (for example, Row, Row, Row your Boat for C C C C, “Pay Me You Owe Me” for F C7 F C7, and “The LIon Sleeps Tonight” C  F  C  G7).

I think of the island strum as the all down-up strum with one missing down and one missing up, i.e. instead of “down-up down-up, down-up, down-up”, it’s “down down-up,  … up, down-up”.  It might not come right away, but I think you’ll find yourself ready to start strumming the pattern, and then strumming along with singing.  The awkward part is the missing down. It must be that for many people, getting the brain to execute this pattern requires building some intricate synaptic connections.

However you get there – it may involve a process very different from the one I am suggesting – I hope you enjoy the ride and that you learn not only a useful ukulele skill but also something about how you learn.