Place your strumming hand at the base of the soundhole of your guitar. This is a good default position, however, there is no harm in deviating from this. Strumming closer to the neck will create a bass-ier sound while strumming closer to the bridge will create a sharper, smaller sound. Keep your wrist loose when strumming. The majority of strumming should be done with your wrist, not your arm. Try to avoid moving your arm too much when strumming (although don’t tense up).Practice your downward and upward strumming. When practicing downward strumming, start by hitting the top E string (thickest string) and moving your way down, hitting all strings below. To get comfortable with this, try just practicing your downstrokes and nothing else.Next, you’ll want to start practicing your upstrokes. For this, your hand should move in an upward motion starting from the thinnest string. For most upstrokes, you’ll generally want to aim to hit the first 4 strings. Try practicing just your upstrokes until you feel comfortable combining the up and down strokes together.Once you feel comfortable doing each stroke individually, try alternating between each: down-up, down-up, down-up, and repeat., We’ve put together the ultimate guide on how to learn guitar for beginners, covering everything from choosing the right guitar to mastering basic chords and developing a consistent practice routine. Ready to embark on your guitar journey? Let’s get started! 1. Choosing The Right Guitar. First things first, we need to get you a guitar., How To Play The Guitar | A guide from the National Guitar Academy. Learn chords at lightning speed, reveal 3 strumming secrets, pick technique, tips for tuning and practice time..