strum the guitar like shane barnard and shane everett

shane barnard web

double strummin fast

how does he do it?

shane barnard strums like a madman
exhibit A - as you can clearly see from the picture above,
shane barnard strums way too fast, even for ISO 100 film!

a few of my thoughts:
1) a thinner pick is easier, try 0.50mm to 0.60mm
2) its mostly in the wrist... try to keep it loosy goosy
3) loosen the grip ever so slightly on the pick
4) the double turbo strum is controlled chaos. without rythym it is just chaos
5) practice with some basic repetitive chords, speed up as you get more comfortable
6) make sure you dont loose the rythym!
7) dont double strum while leading worship unless you are really really really good at it

a few thoughts from others:

>it can sound terrible if your wrist cannot control the pick. trust me...you will think its cool, but its terrible until you can strum correctly. also, i would suggest trying to "shane strum" quietly. if you can do it quietly, without letting your grandma hear it across the house, you MIGHT have it. this is really an advanced technique. it shouldnt be done until you can do it right. practice scales and arpeggios first...those are more important than double strumming. :)
-Paul

As far as the quad strumming thing goes, that is just learning to play REALLY FAST in time. Practice playing an easy punk tune and switch from single strumming (the typical down, down, up, up down up) to double strumming. It's more about the thought process behind it than the actual mechanics of doing it. Many people are able to physically make their hand move that fast, but they can't think it IN TIME.
-Tim

Musically, I grew. Just imagine strumming the guitar every day with the prodigious Shane Barnard. I quickly acquired his infamous double strum, which incidentally is now quite annoying when random people are banging away with the double and triple strums trying to emulate Shane. But more than music, I learned about selflessness from Shane. His desire to do what pleases the Lord was a constant abrasion to me, in the sense that the more time I spent around him, the less selfish I became. I would hope to think that it was an iron sharpening iron situation, but I easily learned more from him than the reverse.
-Caleb Carruth

Its all in the hips...its all in the hips....d'oh! I mean...wrist...its all in the wrist. Oddly enough it really is an aligning of the brain and your physical capabilities (same as in lead guitar playing). There are times when i feel and think i can pull a deca-strum...but my wrist would shatter. Rhythm...is a funny thing. Its something you cant really teach somebody, you either got it or you dont. Think outside the box. Break away from full constant up down up down strums. Do whatever...i dont care!..as long as its in time and rhythm. Dont be scared to try something. There is so much stagnation in music...just try something, anything!
-Jeff

when i first tried the double strum, i wanted to burn my guitar and just stick with the moraccas, but then i prayed about it and aked for the Lord's help, and then after a few weeks i finally got it down perfectly. i found that if you hold the pick so that one of the rounder corners (not the pointier one) hits the strings, it makes it 50% easier to double strum. and just think of double strumming as "kicking up" from a down-strum half way down and then strumming normally again, continuing the rythm. and note: holding the pick harder does not make your wrist move faster, keep the pick firm, but not too firm, and loose, but not too loose. i hope this helps somewhat.
-tom h.

if you have any tips that i should include here, contact me.

people want to strum like shane