Ukulele for Guitar Players

Playing Hand Shapes

"The Thumb Pad"

"The Thumb Pad" works exactly as the name suggests: strumming with the soft pad of your thumb.

Form a pincer-like shape with your thumb and index finger. Anchor your hand by placing your fingertips on the body of the ukulele just below the sound hole. All strumming comes from movement at the thumb joint. Stability and consistency are maintained through this anchor point.

Illustrated here in a clip from Lonesome Pine by Laurel & Hardy

Thumb pad strumming produces a round, mellow sound. It suits songs or sections where the arrangement requires the ukulele to blend into the background as an accompanying instrument.