One of the first things to learn, and definitely a vital aspect of playing the guitar, is how to strum. Although it looks incredibly simple, a lot more is involved in strumming than simply hitting the strings with a pick.
The first thing you might want to consider is the pick itself. They come in different sizes and shapes, all built for a particular purpose and all useful in their own way, but for the acoustic guitar however, especially at the early stages, you might want to go for a thinner pick rather than a thicker one. Thinner picks offer more flexibility, which allows more inconsistencies from your right hand. Also it gives a little bit more of an open brighter sound, which, on an acoustic guitar, sounds great. Up to this day in fact, I still opt for the thinner pick every time I play acoustic guitar.
Th next step is how to hold the pick. If you hold your hand out as if you're holding a mug or a glass your hand should naturally curve on the inside with the fingers closed together as you do it. If you position the pick on top of your first finger, with the flat bottom part of the pick lightly touching the edge of your nail and you get a firm grip with your thumb, you should be getting a little rounded gap between the thumb and the index finger. Once that feels right, bring it closer to the rest of the hand, and you're now ready to strum...
Strumming is by far what a lot of players struggle with at first, and if I had to boil it down to one reason it is this - tension. Having tension while playing can have an extremely negative influence on your playing, as well as your muscles and tendons.
Whatever you play, aim at executing it without any unnecessary tension in your right arm. Learning strumming patterns can help you with this. It is very often overlooked by most players, but the players who learn strumming patterns during the early stages of playing are the ones who can really focus on being creative and experimental with their sound. There are countless techniques and approaches to the guitar and the best way to introduce yourself to them is by mastering the basics. Learning how to strum is definitely one of the most important aspects of guitar playing, so make it your aim to learn how to do it properly.
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