How to strum chords

Occasionally, you don't always need to change the chords in your progression to give it new life. Instead try altering how they are performed.

To keep your listeners interested and to switch things up a little, consider "strumming" your chords to create a more "rhythmic" feel.

To achieve this, all you have to do is play one note at a time, spaced out by a certain amount, and hold each note down at the same time to finish the chord.

Here’s an example of what this would look like on your DAW grid.

Try adding a brief "roll" to add a little extra rhythm and spice without drastically changing the way the song is heard overall. You can do this by manually separating the notes after the chord has been programmed, or by playing them a few milliseconds apart.

Another way to achieve this is to play the notes approximately 1/16th to 1/32nd of a note or beat apart.

You could also make your roll longer to totally alter the progression's dynamic. To achieve this, simply play the notes for a range of 1/4 th - a whole note (1) apart from one another… or even longer, based on the exact look you want to achieve.

Furthermore, although it usually sounds best to play the notes from top to bottom (or vice versa), there's nothing stopping you from using your imagination and playing the notes in a more "randomized" manner—you never know what you might create!