A Simple Guide to Strumming Patterns for Beginners

You have actually practiced your first G and C chords, but it still does not sound like your favorite song. What's missing? The answer is rhythm, which you create with strumming. A strumming pattern is the magic key that turns awkward chords into actual flowing music. Here's the process explained in the absolute easiest possible way. It will teach you the art of reading, practicing, and making use of simple patterns so that you can start playing your first actual song right now.

Before You Strum Your First Pattern

Let's check that you're covered in the foundations first. Ensuring you're right with these two tiny things at the onset will facilitate things in the coming stages and prevent you from picking up bad habits.

How to Hold Your Guitar and Pick Correctly

First, be sure that you know how to hold the guitar well. You can sit or stand; the guitar must sit well and be stable. Then your fretting hand can move freely. In your strumming hand, the essential point is the fact that you are relaxed. You must hold the pick enough with your index and your thumb, but you should not form a fist. The wrist must be loose since the essential part of the strumming action takes place with the wrist and not with the whole arm.

Understand Strumming Notation: What Do "D" and "U" Mean?

You will often see strumming patterns written with letters and arrows. It's a simple code to understand.

• D means Downstroke. This is when you strum down, from the thickest string to the thinnest.
• U means Upstroke. This is when you strum up, from the thinnest string to the thickest.

To keep time, we count beats, usually four beats for each section: "1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &". Usually, the numbers (1, 2, 3, 4) are played with downstrokes, and the "ands" are played with upstrokes. This makes your hand move steadily, and that is the secret to smooth strumming.

Your First 3 Essential Strumming Patterns

You don't need to learn a lot of hard patterns to start playing music. In fact, these three simple patterns are the basis for hundreds of popular songs.

Pattern #1: The Foundation (All Downstrokes)

Pattern: D - D - D - D

How to Play: This is the easiest pattern and the best place to start. You will play one downstroke on every beat (1, 2, 3, 4). Focus on keeping your timing perfectly steady. This pattern is not the most exciting, but it is the best exercise for practicing smooth chord changes, and it helps your strumming hand keep a steady rhythm.

Pattern #2: The Campfire Classic

Pattern: D - D - U - - D - U

How to Play: This is a very common pattern in music. You strum down on beats 1 and 2, and up on the "and" after beat 2. You skip beat 3, and then finish with a down-up on beat 4. The count is: "1, 2-and, (skip), 4-and". The pause on beat 3 gives this pattern its nice, relaxed feel.

Pattern #3: The Versatile Pop Strum

Pattern: D - DU - UDU

How to Play: This pattern has more energy, and you hear it in a lot of songs. The count is "1, 2-and, 3, 4-and" and the strumming is D - DU - UDU. This makes a strong rhythm that's great for many songs.

How to Practice Strumming Like a Pro

You understand the pattern, all right, but you play with no smoothness at all. That's the way you should practice the guitar the correct way. Proper practice does not involve playing for longer and longer periods. It's all about practicing the correct things.

Tip 1: Use a Metronome.

This clicker clicks consistently, so you can play along with it. It's the perfect companion while practicing how to keep well in time. You should practice at a very low speed (e.g., 60 beats per minute) and only move up in speed when you can play the pattern from start to finish with total accuracy.

Tip 2: Practice with Muted Strings.

This is a tip: gently touch all the strings with your fretting hand so the tone stops. Then play with your right-hand strumming pattern exercise. You should hear a "ch-ch" tone. Doing it this way, you wouldn't have to trouble yourself with chord changes, so all you have to concern yourself with is nailing the rhythm.

Tip 3: Master the "One-Minute Chord Change."

Select two chords (e.g., G and C), and a one-minute clock. Strum a pattern and count how many clean chord changes you can make. Write the result and strive for a better score tomorrow. It makes practice more enjoyable.

Tip 4: Start Slow, Speed is Your Reward.

Each musician can tell you this. It's far better to play the pattern correctly and slowly than to play quickly and confusingly. You learn better with your muscles and brain if you are correct first. Speed will develop after consistent practice.

Putting It All Together: Easy Songs for Your New Skills

The best part of learning is finally being able to play real music. Here are a few simple songs you can try with your new strumming patterns.

For the "All Downstrokes" Pattern:

• "Horse with No Name" by America
• "Three Little Birds" by Bob Marley

For the "Campfire Classic" Pattern:

• "Leaving on a Jet Plane" by John Denver
• "Brown Eyed Girl" by Van Morrison

For the "Versatile Pop Strum" Pattern:

• "Wonderwall" by Oasis
• Many modern pop songs.

Conclusion

How to play with guitar? The simple answer is: you can learn for your whole life. But you can move from simply pressing chords and making no songs at all up to creating music in a matter of weeks. Strumming does the trick. It's a process in which you're continually improving, not a point at which you merely arrive. Concentrate on practicing regularly and be satisfied with little victories. And the most important: pick songs that evoke the desire in you to play. How quickly you're learning depends only on you. Make some music now!

FAQ

Why does my strumming sound choppy?

This is almost always because your wrist is too stiff. You should be strumming smoothly and relaxed, like you are waving. You can practice with muted strings. You only have to focus on moving the hand up and down at a steady beat with the hand, even when you are not hitting the strings.

Should I use my whole arm or just my wrist to strum?

Both, but most of the movement you must move from your wrist, and a very tiny portion from your forearm. Do not move your elbow and wave the entire arm, for you will get tired and the tone will be bad.

Is it harder to strum on an electric guitar or an acoustic?

The way you play does not become different, but it normally becomes less challenging on a beginner electric with thinner strings and less tension needed. However, an acoustic makes you play with better technique because the faults are more audible. Both are great choices for a beginner's instrument.