Guitar · Chapter 9 of 23

Strumming Patterns

Strumming is rhythm. The secret is a hand that never stops: down on the beats, up between them, and only sometimes touching the strings.

Count four beats: “1, 2, 3, 4”. Now count the spaces between them too: “1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and”. Your strumming hand moves down on every number and up on every “and”, like a pendulum, all the way through the song.

1. Down strums

One down strum on each beat. Loose wrist, the pick brushing through the strings, not digging in. This is the place to start.

2. Down and up

Add an up strum on every “and”. The up strum is lighter and catches mostly the top three or four strings. The hand moves at the same speed as before; it just plays on the way up too.

3. The folk strum

The most-used strum of all. The hand keeps going down-up on every eighth note, but on the “3” it misses the strings on purpose (it moves down above them). Say it as: down, down-up, (miss) up, down-up.

Count1and2and3and4and
Handdown(up, miss)downup(down, miss)updownup
StringsDDUUDU

4. Accents and the chuck

An accent (>) is a stronger strum. A chuck (X) is a strum with the side of your hand resting on the strings, so they click instead of ring: it works like a snare drum on beats 2 and 4.

Reading a pattern: D = down strum, U = up strum, X = muted chuck, – = the hand moves but misses, > = accent. The arrows light up as they play. Use − and + to slow the pattern down or speed it up.
Try it. Hold a G chord and play the folk strum along with the pattern player for two minutes. Then mute the strings with your left hand (touch them without pressing) and play it again: you will hear only the rhythm, which makes it easier to check.

Remember

  • Down on the beat, up on the “and”, and the hand never stops.
  • Folk strum: down, down-up, (miss) up, down-up.
  • Accents and chucks give a strum its groove.

Songs that use this

@teddyrookbook GitHub