Fingerstyle Or Strumming For Newbies?

In this video, we'll cover a super common beginner question. The question is: "Which is harder, fingerstyle or strumming?"

My short answer is fingerstyle. But for me, the real question is: which do you want to play? Don't let other people tell you what you should learn! And don't learn something if it doesn't inspire you on your guitar journey. Learn what you love to play. :)

Why It's Easier To Start With Strumming

That said, strumming is easier for beginners because you don't need to be precise with your fingers. The important part is keeping the rhythm solid and moving your hand in the right direction.

But fingerstyle is quite fiddly. To play even the most basic patterns, you must hit the right strings, use multiple fingers, and keep in time. It's physically more demanding. The bass note also changes from chord to chord, which is tricky when starting.

Making Fingerstyle Automatic

Because fingerstyle is physically difficult, you must practice a lot until it's automatic. It means that singing while playing fingerstyle takes much more practice than singing while strumming. But eventually, it goes on autopilot, meaning you can play patterns without thinking. To help with this, you can deliberately distract yourself when you play them. :)

That said, fingerstyle can get super complex, loads more complex than strumming does. It's a world of its own!

💡 Check out my free Beginner Guitar Course, where we master the essentials of fingerstyle and strumming.