10 Simple Strumming Patterns That Fit Hundreds of Songs

Writing a pattern: down and up arrows

Read every pattern against the grid '1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and': ↓ is a downstroke, ↑ an upstroke, and · means the hand passes through the air. The hand always keeps swinging continuously (see the article on strumming) - gaps change the contact point, not the motion itself.

The three most basic patterns

Start here - all three fit a count of four beats:

• ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ - four even downstrokes, the simplest pattern of all.
• ↓ ↓ ↑ ↓ ↑ - a downstroke on every beat, plus extra upstrokes between beats two and three, three and four.
• ↓ - ↑ ↓ - ↑ - down on "1", skip on "2", up on "and", down on "3", skip on "4", up on "and".

Five intermediate patterns

A bit more involved - more upstrokes and syncopation:

• ↓ ↓↑ - ↑ ↓↑ - a classic "eighth-note" pattern with two down-up pairs and a gap on beat three.
• ↓ - ↓↑ - ↓↑ - a gap right after the first downstroke creates a light syncopation.
• ↓↑ - ↑ ↓↑ - an upstroke right after "1" with no downstroke on "2" - a signature rock-and-roll pattern.
• ↓ - ↑ - ↓↑ - sparse hits at the start of the bar, dense at the end.
• ↓↑ ↓↑ ↓↑ ↓↑ - continuous eighth notes with no gaps at all, the base pattern for muted strumming (see the article on percussive strumming).

Two patterns accenting the "and"

Skipping a downstroke and accenting a neighboring 'and' creates syncopation. Here are two concrete versions on the '1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and' grid:

• ↓ · · ↑ ↓ · · ↑ - hits on 1, the and after 2, 3, and the and after 4.
• ↓ ↑ · ↑ ↓ ↑ · ↑ - a denser pattern with gaps on beats 2 and 4.

How to pick a pattern for a specific song

Start with the simplest of the ten that roughly matches the feel (see the article on figuring out a strum pattern by ear) and add upstrokes gradually, rather than trying to guess the original's exact notation right away - most patterns are similar enough that a simple version sounds musical even without a perfect match.