Bluegrass Strumming 103

Combining Down and Upstrokes

Now that you've practiced down and upstrokes, let's put them together to create a basic strumming pattern.

To strum your mandolin, you'll alternate between down and upstrokes. The momentum of your hand moving through the strings on the downstroke should influence your upstroke and if you can imagine and use that momentum for your upstroke, it will help you play through all of the strings with a loose write. Exaggerate the motion and play slowly at first to get this technique down with good timing.