Hey everyone,

 

Ska has been one of my favorite genres for awhile now, and some of my favorite songs incorporate a ska strumming pattern. I was wondering if anyone had any tips on how to get that strumming technique down for those smaller chord shapes you see on many songs, i.e Rancid's "Old Friend" and Goldfinger's "Superman" ? I can do that muted downstroke when it is a full barre chord, but it seems like a more precise method when only the G, B and high E strings are being played - hope this makes sense! 

 

Thanks in advance

 

 

I would think you'd want to finger the full chord and do an upstroke so you only hit the high strings.

Thanks, I guess I need to figure out what the whole chords are for those smaller shapes. I am still putting my fingers where the tab labels them, 1,2,3 etc. so that may be where some of my confusion is coming from

Not the full chords. We're not at a campfire. You should practice these shortened chords. You will need them more often as you imagine. And it's the way to play Ska. In my customs you will find any great Ska stuff like Fishbone, Niños Con Bombas and Ska P. But not that easy to play for beginners.