Common Strumming Patterns
Get one “universal strum” pattern down and your accompaniment instantly gains a sense of groove.
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The universal strum: down, down-up, up, down-up
Four beats to a bar, strummed like this: beat 1 is “down,” beat 2 is “down-up,” beat 3 is “up,” beat 4 is “down-up.”
The key is keeping the right hand swinging up and down like a pendulum — ghost-strum the silent beats too, and only actually touch the strings on the beats that should sound. That's what makes the rhythm steady.
The most useful strum for singing along. On the empty beats (dashed arrows) keep your hand moving but miss the strings — that's the key to a steady groove.
Solid arrows are the strums you actually play; dashed arrows mean keep your hand moving but miss the strings. Start slow enough to see it, then build up speed.
Pick “universal strum,” hit play, and follow the arrows — solid lines touch the strings, dashed lines are ghost strums; get it smooth slowly, then speed up.
- 💡 Let the downstroke catch a few more bass strings and the upstroke lightly graze just a few treble strings — it sounds more natural.
⚠️ Common mistakes
- On the silent beats your right hand stops, so the rhythm speeds up and slows down — keep the right hand swinging up and down continuously (ghost strums).
- You strum all the strings hard on the upstroke too, and it sounds noisy — the upstroke should just lightly graze a few of the treble strings.
Chords in this lesson
Tap the 🔊 under each diagram to match every chord's sound to its shape.
⏱️ Cycle this lesson's chords to a beatPractice switching without stopping (one-minute changes) — first learn each chord by ear and shape, then drill clean changes between them.Expand Collapse
Switch back and forth between this lesson's chords to the beat below.
One bar of count-in first, then the chord changes automatically each bar. Get it smooth slowly, then speed up bit by bit.
Want to count how many changes you can do in 60 seconds? Head to the one-minute changes drill.
Go play these
Songs that fit this lesson's technique and chords — pick one and practice in the library:
- Mary Had a Little Lamb · American traditional nursery rhyme (public domain)C · G
- The Four-Chord Jam: G–D–Em–C · Original exerciseG · D · Em · C
- Ode to Joy · Beethoven (public domain)G · D
- Twinkle Twinkle Little Star · French traditional melody (public domain)G · C · D
- Oh! Susanna · Stephen Foster (1848, public domain)G · C · D
- Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door · Bob DylanG · D · Am · C
Practice checklist
- Strum “down, down-up, up, down-up” on a single G chord for 2 minutes.
- Add a G–C switch, one bar per chord.