Strumming on One Chord: Simple Rhythms for Beginners
Strumming is best learned on one chord: the hand is busy only with rhythm and you can focus on evenness. Below are four patterns from simple to familiar and two blocks to practise right here.
Why start with one chord
When you must change chords, attention goes to the left hand and the rhythm breaks. With one chord the right hand learns an even motion: up and down like a pendulum. Confident strumming on one chord then transfers to any song. More: how to learn strumming.
Make the chord
Take Em: it is the simplest and sounds from the first try. Put your fingers as in the diagram and strum to hear how the chord should sound.
Four rhythms on one chord
Play each pattern for several rounds before moving on. Count aloud: one-and two-and three-and four-and. A down arrow is a downstroke, an up arrow is an upstroke.
- Quarter notes: down on every beat, 4 strokes in a bar.
- Eighth notes: down-up on every beat, the hand moves without stopping.
- The classic pattern: down, down-up, up-down-up.
- With muting: the same, but on some strokes the palm lightly holds the strings.
Practise with a metronome
Set the metronome to 60-70 beats per minute and play one pattern until it is even. Raise the tempo only after several clean rounds in a row.
What next
When the pattern works on one chord, add a second: how to change chords without stopping the strum. More rhythms: guitar strumming patterns and how to improve your strumming.
Try it in practice
Open the metronome