Strumming/rythem playing - Lets have some.

[Jeroenn]

Howdy folks, hope y'all had a great x-mas. I certainly did (not thanks to an increddible cold that I have, I'm sick as a dog, have to stay in, so I just can play guitar all day.. ).
Anyway, here's a q for all you teachers out there:

Basic strumming. You know, you've got a nice chord progression, a funky rhythm going on and you want to do some rhythm playing. I want to incorporate this in my warming up (grab all kinds of funky chords fast). So I tried, and (no surprise) I suck at strumming. Would someone do me a big favour and post some strumming 101 here? Here are the problems that I have:
I need some excercices to get my arm and hand going.
I need to get some info on how to avoid touching the strings with my fingers (unless you're supposed to do that?) ie: how much of the pick do you use and so. And all other excercices that get me rocking would be great.

Thank you so much!

[jem7vwh]

The biggest thing I can tell you that I've noticed with folks who struggle with rhythm is that they choke up. *By that I mean that they are too stiff. *The first thing a good rhythm player (usually, always exceptions) does is loosen up. *Your elbow and your wrist should always move with a free and easy motion. *Unless the music calls for extremely hard strumming or staccato (short choppy notes) you would be well served by trying to keep your hand moving smoothly at all times. *Work on a constant fluid back and forth motion.

As far as pick usage, that's up to you to find. *Start counting on the beats. *1 2 3 4 then 8th notes 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 then 16ths 1 e & a 2 e & a.....

Other patterns will come more naturally.