Guitar UpscaleStrumming patterns for beginners
Count the beat, keep the hand moving and learn the strumming patterns behind most pop, rock and folk songs.
By Oleg Chibikov, the author of Guitar Upscale
Count before you strum
Most songs count four beats to a bar: 1, 2, 3, 4. Split each beat in two and you count 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &. The numbers are the beats, and the & are the halves between them.
A strumming pattern says which of these eight spots get a strum. D means a down strum toward the floor, U an up strum toward your face.
The one rule: keep the hand moving
Your strumming hand moves down on every number and up on every &, all the time. To leave a gap, keep moving but miss the strings. This keeps you in time and makes every pattern feel the same to your arm.
Patterns to learn
Quarter notes
| 1 | & | 2 | & | 3 | & | 4 | & |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | · | D | · | D | · | D | · |
One down strum on each beat. Start every new song with this to learn the chord changes.
Eighth notes
| 1 | & | 2 | & | 3 | & | 4 | & |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | U | D | U | D | U | D | U |
Down on the beat, up on the &. This is the motion the hand keeps for every pattern below.
The folk pattern
| 1 | & | 2 | & | 3 | & | 4 | & |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | · | D | U | · | U | D | U |
Down, down up, up down up. It fits most pop, folk and campfire songs. The hand still moves on the gaps, it just misses the strings.
Rock eighths
| 1 | & | 2 | & | 3 | & | 4 | & |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
All down strums on eighth notes, often with palm muting. Punk and hard rock rhythm parts use it.
Reggae offbeat
| 1 | & | 2 | & | 3 | & | 4 | & |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| · | U | · | U | · | U | · | U |
Short, choppy strums on the & only. Let go of the chord right after each strum to cut the sound.
Ballad
| 1 | & | 2 | & | 3 | & | 4 | & |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | · | · | U | · | U | D | U |
A long first strum, then lighter strums. It leaves space for the singer.
How to practise
- Mute the strings with your fretting hand and strum the pattern on the dead strings. Your ear can focus on the rhythm alone.
- Set a metronome to 60 beats per minute and play the pattern on one chord.
- Add a second chord and change on beat 1 of each bar.
- Speed up by 5 beats per minute once it feels easy.
If a chord change is too slow, let go of the old chord on the last up strum of the bar. That open strum is normal, and it buys you the time to land the next chord on beat 1.
Accents bring it to life
Strum a little harder on beats 2 and 4, where a drummer hits the snare. The pattern stays the same, but the groove gets stronger.
Strum patterns in Guitar Upscale
In Guitar Upscale, hold a chord button and the app strums it with the pattern you picked, in time with the clock. The strumming button in the control panel lists the patterns and lets you build your own from down strokes, up strokes and rests. It is a quick way to hear how a pattern should sound before you play it.
Need chords to strum? The chords in a key guide lists the progressions behind most songs.