Flatpick and Strumming Guitar Lesson
Flatpick and Strumming
Orville talks about flatpicks, how to hold them, and how to strum with them.
Taught by Orville Johnson in Beginner Acoustic with Orville seriesLength: 13:29Difficulty: 1.0 of 5
Pick Thickness
There are different types of flatpicks that are best used in different situations. Here is a summary of the effect of thickness on the sound produced by a flatpick:
- A thin pick has more give to it which causes a “slapping” effect. This creates a more percussive sound and is good to use for strumming guitar parts.
- A heavy pick is very thick. It produces a fuller, richer tone and has no give or slapping effect. This is ideal for playing solos and melodies.
Orville suggests you start playing with a medium gauge pick. Experiment with other types and find out what works best for you.
Holding the PickRest the pick on the top of the index finger, just below the first joint. Then hold the pick in place with the tip of the thumb. Make sure about 1/3 of the pointy end of the pick is sticking out from the fingers.
Rest StrokeThis is an important technique in flatpick guitar playing. Start by picking only the bass note of a chord. Stop the pick by “resting” it on the next string. Then on the next beat follow through and strum the rest of the chord. The bass note can be alternated between other notes in the chord as well. Just use the same technique on different strings.
This technique makes it so you do not need to lift the pick in the air after picking the bass note. Rest stroke picking is better because when you raise the pick in the air you need to aim to hit the correct string. This makes it much more likely for there to be error in your playing. Rest stroke picking also helps you keep the tempo of your playing up because it minimizes the amount of movement necessary to strum chords.
Supplemental Learning Material
Beginner Acoustic with Orville
Found in our Beginner Lesson SetsDiscover the essentials with Orville Johnson by learning some of the most popular topics and techniques in beginner guitar.
Lesson 1
Overcoming Beginner Challenges
Orville talks about some challenges you will likely face as a beginner and offers some advice that will help you overcome them.
Length: 13:05 Difficulty: 0.5 Members Only
Flatpick and Strumming
Orville talks about flatpicks, how to hold them, and how to strum with them.
Length: 13:29 Difficulty: 1.0 Members Only
Fingerpicking and Patterns
Orville Johnson introduces some basic fingerpicking patterns.
Length: 6:58 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Metronome and Practicing
Orville Johnson explains why it is important to practice with a metronome. He also covers some practice strategies that will help minimize your frustration.
Length: 21:35 Difficulty: 1.0 Members Only
Practical Theory Part 1: Intervals
Orville dives into part 1 of his beginners' guide to practical theory. In this lesson, you will learn the basics of intervals.
Length: 17:30 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Practical Theory Part 2: Scales
Orville Johnson takes a look at scales in part 2 of his practical theory mini-series.
Length: 18:40 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Practical Theory Part 3: Chords and Construction
Orville Johnson jumps into part 3 of his practical theory mini-series. This lesson is about chords and their construction.
Length: 21:08 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Connecting Chords with Bass Runs
Orville Johnson demonstrates how simple chord progressions can be spruced up with bass runs. The classic song "Oh! Susanna" is used as an example.
Length: 12:04 Difficulty: 1.5 Members Only
Basic Blues Shuffle
Orville Johnson demonstrates a basic blues shuffle. This incredibly easy rhythm piece will have you sounding like a blues great in no time!
Length: 12:38 Difficulty: 1.5 Members Only
Voice Leading
Orville Johnson talks about the concept of voice leading. This concept will help you play chord progressions that flow better and sound more harmonious.
Length: 10:20 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Major Chords
Orville Johnson teaches the basic major chords in this lesson. He also explains the best way to change from chord to chord, a challenge for many beginners.
Length: 19:23 Difficulty: 1.5 Members Only
Note Values
Orville Johnson jumps into some light theory with a lesson on note values.
Length: 7:51 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
The CAGED System
Orville Johnson takes a beginner's look at the CAGED system.
Length: 8:14 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Open D Tuning
Orville Johnson introduces open D tuning and encourages exploration of its possibilities. This tuning is great for a broad range of playing styles.
Length: 24:04 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Open G Tuning
This time, Orville Johnson introduces open G tuning. This tuning is great for a broad range of playing styles and sounds pretty without even fingering a chord.
Length: 21:28 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
About Orville Johnson
View Full Biography
Orville Johnson was born in 1953 in Edwardsville, Illinois and came up on the St. Louis, Missouri music scene, where he was exposed to and participated in a variety of blues, bluegrass and American roots music. He began singing in his Pentecostal church as a young boy, in rock bands in middle school, then took up the guitar at 17,with early influences from Doc Watson, Rev. Gary Davis, Mississippi John Hurt, and Chuck Berry. In the early 1970's, Orville spent several seasons playing bluegrass on the SS Julia Belle Swain, a period-piece Mississippi river steamboat plying the inland waterways, with his group the Steamboat Ramblers.
Orville moved to Seattle, Washington in 1978, where he was a founding member of the much-loved and well-remembered folk/rock group, the Dynamic Logs. Other musical associates include Laura Love, Ranch Romance, File' Gumbo Zydeco Band, Scott Law, and the Twirling Mickeys. Johnson, known for his dobro and slide guitar stylings and vocal acrobatics, has played on over 100 albums. He has appeared on Garrison Keilor's Prairie Home Companion, Jay Leno's Tonight Show and was featured in the 1997 film Georgia with Mare Winningham. His musical expertise can also be heard on the Microsoft CD-ROMs, Musical Instruments of the World and the Complete Encyclopedia of Baseball. He teaches as well at the International Guitar Seminar, Pt. Townsend Country Blues Week and Puget Sound Guitar Workshop.
Orville released 4 recordings in the 1990's: The World According to Orville (1990) Blueprint for the Blues (1998) Slide & Joy (1999) an all-instrumental dobro tour de force and Kings of Mongrel Folk (1997) with Mark Graham. He also appeared on 4 discs with the File' Gumbo Zydeco Band and produced Whose World Is This (1997) for Jim Page and Inner Life (1999) for Mark Graham. In the 21st century, he has released Freehand, a new Kings of Mongrel Folk disc, Still Goin' Strong, and been featured in the soundtracks of PBS' Frontier House and the Peter Fonda flick The Wooly Boys as well as the compilation cd Legends of the Incredible Lap Steel Guitar.
Acoustic Guitar Lessons
Our acoustic guitar lessons are taught by qualified instructors with various backgrounds with the instrument.
Steve Eulberg
Steve Eulberg does a quick review of this lesson series and talks about moving on.
Free LessonSeries Details
Pamela Goldsmith
Pamela brings a cap to her first 13 JamPlay lessons with another original etude inspired by the great Leo Brouwer. This is...
Free LessonSeries Details
Kaki King
In lesson 6, Kaki discusses how the left and right hands can work together or independently of each other to create different...
Free LessonSeries Details
Mark Kroos
Free LessonSeries Details
Nick Amodeo
Nick explains how to play some of the most commonly used chords in the bluegrass genre.
Free LessonSeries Details
Orville Johnson
Orville Johnson introduces turnarounds and provides great ideas and techniques.
Free LessonSeries Details
Erik Mongrain
Erik expounds on the many possibilities of open tunings and the new harmonics that you can use in them. He explains what...
Free LessonSeries Details
Mark Lincoln
Time to unlock your creativity because in this information packed lesson. Mark dives deep into how to deconstruct the process...
Free LessonSeries Details
Danny Voris
Lesson 7 is all about arpeggios. Danny provides discussion and exercises designed to build your right hand skills.
Free LessonSeries DetailsElectric Guitar Lesson Samples
Our electric guitar lessons are taught by instructors with an incredible amount of teaching experience.
Nick Kellie
Nick explains how to use scales and modes effectively when soloing over a chord progression.
Free LessonSeries Details
Nick Greathouse
Nick starts his series with Alternate Picking part 1. Improve your timing, speed, and execution with this important lesson.
Free LessonSeries Details
Michael Ripoll
Michael "Nomad" Ripoll dives deep into the rhythm & blues, funk, and soul genres that were made popular by artists like Earth...
Free LessonSeries Details
Kenny Ray
Albert Collins brought a lot of style to the blues scene. In this lesson, Kenny breaks down Albert's style for you to learn.
Free LessonSeries Details
Bryan Beller
Bryan Beller of the Aristocrats, Dethklok, and Steve Vai takes you inside his six step method to learning any song by ear....
Free LessonSeries Details
Stuart Ziff
Stuart doesn't waste an ytime diving into blues as he starts his series off by demonstrating one of the most iconic and recognizable...
Free LessonSeries Details
Brendan Burns
Brendan demonstrates the tiny triad shapes derived from the form 1 barre chord.
Free LessonSeries Details
Dennis Hodges
Learn a variety of essential techniques commonly used in the metal genre, including palm muting, string slides, and chord...
Free LessonSeries Details
Kris Norris
Kris analyzes different pick sizes and their effect on his playing. Using a slow motion camera, he is able to point out the...
Free LessonSeries Details
Lauren Passarelli
Lauren Passarelli offers up her wisdom on purchasing a guitar. She also includes information regarding proper setup and care....
Free LessonSeries DetailsAdditional Lesson Features Available to Members
While we have attempted to provide you with an accurate rendition of our video lesson experience, there are some features which
require a membership with us!
Custom Progress Reporting
At JamPlay, we give you the ability to monitor your own progress for any lesson! If you watch one of our lessons and feel as though you understand around half of it, mark your progress at 50%. This adds the lesson to your customized Progress Report, and gives you an incredible ability to document what you need to work on, and where you left off.
Progressive Bookmarking
With thousands of lessons at your fingertips, JamPlay can be a touch intimidating to a first-time user. With Progressive Bookmarking, we give you the ability to systematically bookmark sections of any lessons you are working on to quickly access later. After all, what is the point of all this content if it isn't easy to use?
Save Your Notes
JamPlay also gives you the ability to leave notes for yourself on any lesson. Just like in any educational system, taking your own notes while learning gives you the ability to highlight the instruction that is important to you. Leave your notes, and we store them in our database for you to reference each and everytime you come back to the lesson.
Join the Thousands of Members at JamPlay
Signup today to enjoy access to our entire database of video lessons, along with our exclusive set of learning tools and features.
Unlimited Lesson Viewing
A JamPlay membership gives you access to every lesson, from every teacher on our staff. Additionally, there is no restriction on how many times you watch a lesson. Watch as many times as you need.Live Lessons
Exclusive only to JamPlay, we currently broadcast 8-10 hours of steaming lesson services directly to you! Enjoy the benefits of in-person instructors and the conveniences of our community.Interactive Community
Create your own profile, manage your friends list, and contact users with your own JamPlay Mailbox. JamPlay also features live chat with teachers and members, and an active Forum.Chord Library
Each chord in our library contains a full chart, related tablature, and a photograph of how the chord is played. A comprehensive learning resource for any guitarist.Scale Library
Our software allows you to document your progress for any lesson, including notes and percent of the lesson completed. This gives you the ability to document what you need to work on, and where you left off.Custom Chord Sheets
At JamPlay, not only can you reference our Chord Library, but you can also select any variety of chords you need to work on, and generate your own printable chord sheet.Backing Tracks
Jam-along backing tracks give the guitarist a platform for improvising and soloing. Our backing tracks provide a wide variety of tracks from different genres of music, and serves as a great learning tool.Interactive Games
We have teachers covering beginner lessons, rock, classic rock, jazz, bluegrass, fingerstyle, slack key and more. Learn how to play the guitar from experienced players, in a casual environment.Beginners Welcome.. and Up
Unlike a lot of guitar websites and DVDs, we start our Beginner Lessons at the VERY start of the learning process, as if you just picked up a guitar for the first time.Our teaching is structured for all players.
Member Comments about this Lesson
Discussions with our instructors are just one of the many benefits of becoming a member of JamPlay.I feel if the lesson would show the cords under or in a seperate section I could better follow the chord changes. Other than that it lesson is very informative.
I have been playing four years, and it is really cool to brush up again., I needed it!
Thanks for your easy style and method of teaching guitar and bass runs. I was not sure i wanted to continue with guitar at 76 years young, but now i do. Wonderful lesson. Peace to you and yours.
Oh my gosh. How much easier it is to make the G and C chords this way. With the base progressions I actually feel like I am playing something for the first time in several years attempts. Thanks you so much.
as a 67 year old just now starting to learn guitar, i've got to say your style of teaching is perfect for me. It took a little while to figure out the bass runs but now i love them. how about putting together a beginning song that we can use them in?? thanks Dave
Hi, Orville, I have watched your lesson along with several other instructors over the past year. I am now on your flatpicks and strumming lesson again. I plan tostay with you for a long time now. I'm 73 and your method is great and great for me. Thanks.
I'll add myself. (68 year old) This is a great lesson. Orville is a great teacher, and these new fingerings really make this fun.
Hi Orville ... keep coming back to your lessons. One thing that has helped me, was your suggestion on playing with the guitar on my left knee. I found that it has helped when learning bar cord and coming up the neck. I have longer arms and when positioned on my right knee, I have to really cock my wrist around and it makes things diffecult. Thaniks, Bob
Only two months of experience behind me. Have been bouncing from Justinguitar.com, nextlevelguitar.com, and youtube. I am on a 7 day trial here and this is the type of instruction I am looking for. Well done and I think I am going to subscribe. Thank you.
Hi Orville, I like your slow and deleberate instruction, I am the new Kid on the block, I will checking in again. Thanks.
Orville great lesson. But I believe the Bass Run lesson exercise (2) has a few mistakes, it should be F# and D, not F and D#.
not sure where you see that mistake but i found that the bass run up to the D chord should be B, C, D not B, C#, D. C being the 3rd fret on the 5th string, C# being the 4th fret on the 5th string for those that don't know the note names yet :)
Orville that was a fantastic lesson. You slow things down at the appropriate time and, your voice is very calming for me. Thanks!
This is the best lesson I've found so far in all of JamPlay. I feel like a real guitar player doing those bass runs. You explain things so well. I plan on viewing and practicing all of your lessons. Theresa
Hola Orville. Just the lesson I needed to understand bass note runs. Can't wait to practice, practice. I'll be back for more after I master this lesson. Ciao.
Hi Orville, great lesson. Slight typo in the exercises; for the run up to the D, it shows 2 & 4 on the 5th string, when actually you play 2 & 3. No worries though, you explain it correctly. Looking forward to more lessons!