Strumming Behind the Nut
Strumming Behind the Nut Hi, I'm Grey and this is Hub Guitar. This video is going to be a very short explanation of a special effect called strumming behind the nut. This technique is fairly limited in scope. Keep in mind that this technique may not amplify well. So your guitar's pickup system may have trouble hearing you do this. Making it a little less useful in a live performance. So here it is. You just use the pick and brush along the strings behind the nut. And you can create this eerie sound effect. This might be useful in a recording, or in a solo guitar bit, or maybe when you're playing around with the loop pedal. So that's it. Not a difficult trick, try it yourself!
How to Strum Behind The Nut
- Brush lightly on the strings behind the nut.
- This is a special effect only, having little discernible musical meaning.
You can file this one under “curious special effect”. It doesn’t have a huge amount of practical musical usage, but it can be an interesting special effect in the right circumstances.
Note: this effect may not work the same under amplication, as most of the sound is coming from near the headstock, instead of the usual place near the soundhole—and most amplification systems are intended to pick up sound coming from the soundhole.
There is no easy way to change or influence the pitches coming from behind the nut. You could use the guitar tuning machines, but obviously that would affect the tuning of the instrument. You could also pluck the string behind the nut and then bend it on the other side of the nut, but that might hurt alot.
As the creator of Hub Guitar, Grey has compiled hundreds of guitar lessons, written several books, and filmed hundreds of video lessons. He teaches private lessons in his Boston studio, as well as via video chat through TakeLessons.