Strumming Patterns
Up/down patterns, accents, groove
The Upstroke
An upstroke moves the pick from the thin strings toward the thick strings — the reverse of a downstroke. It's shown as ↑ in strumming notation.
Upstrokes naturally catch fewer strings (usually just the thinnest 3-4), and that's fine. They're meant to sound lighter and thinner than downstrokes. This contrast between heavy downstrokes and lighter upstrokes is what creates groove.
The trick is that your hand should be moving up and down continuously like a pendulum, even when you're not hitting the strings. This constant motion keeps you in time.
The Universal Strumming Pattern
If there's one pattern to learn first, it's this:
↓ ↓ ↑ ↑ ↓ ↑
Counted over a bar of 4/4:
1 2 & & 4 &
This pattern works for an enormous number of songs across pop, rock, folk, and country. It has a natural, bouncing feel because of the mix of on-beat downstrokes and off-beat upstrokes.
Start very slowly — like 50 BPM — and get the pattern into your muscle memory before speeding up. Your hand keeps the constant down-up pendulum motion; you just miss the strings on certain beats.
Accents
An accent means strumming one beat louder than the others. This gives music its feel and energy. In most 4/4 patterns, beats 1 and 3 get slight accents (they're the strong beats).
You create accents by strumming slightly harder — not by tightening your grip, but by letting the pick sweep a bit further through the strings. The difference should be subtle: think 70% volume on unaccented beats, 100% on accented.
More Patterns
Here are some other essential patterns:
All down-up (8th notes): ↓ ↑ ↓ ↑ ↓ ↑ ↓ ↑ — steady and driving, good for rock and punk
Island strum: ↓ ↓ ↑ — ↑ ↓ ↑ — reggae and ukulele feel, skipping the upstroke after beat 1 and the downstroke on beat 3
Folk strum: ↓ — ↓ ↑ ↓ ↑ — one downstroke on beat 1, then continuous from beat 2
The key to all patterns is keeping that pendulum arm motion going and choosing which strokes make contact with the strings.
Tab Examples
Down-up 8th notes (Em)
↓ ↑ ↓ ↑ ↓ ↑ ↓ ↑ e--0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-- B--0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-- G--0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-- D--2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-- A--2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-- E--0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0--
Universal pattern: ↓ ↓ ↑ ↑ ↓ ↑
↓ ↓ ↑ ↑ ↓ ↑ e--0---0-0---0-0-0-- B--0---0-0---0-0-0-- G--0---0-0---0-0-0-- D--2---2-2---2-2-2-- A--2---2-2---2-2-2-- E--0---0-0---0-0-0--
Tips
- Keep your hand moving like a pendulum even when missing strings — this is the secret to staying in time
- Upstrokes should be lighter and catch fewer strings — this is correct, not a mistake
- Learn one pattern well before adding another
- Record yourself and listen back — it's the fastest way to hear timing issues
Practice Exercises
- Practice constant down-up strumming on Em at 60 BPM — every click is a down, every "&" is an up
- Learn the universal pattern (↓ ↓ ↑ ↑ ↓ ↑) on a single chord first, then add changes
- Play G-Em-C-D using the universal pattern, 1 bar per chord
- Try accenting beats 1 and 3 while using down-up strumming — feel the difference