A strumming pattern is the order in which you strum down (↓) and up (↑) across the strings. It turns a single chord into a little piece of music. On ukulele you usually strum with your index finger or thumb; on guitar with your thumb, index finger or a pick.
The secret: keep your hand moving
Your strumming hand moves steadily up and down like a pendulum: down on the numbers (1, 2, 3, 4) and up on the “and” in between. For a pattern you only hit the strings some of the time – but your hand never stops swinging. That keeps you in time automatically.
Four patterns to get started
- ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ – four down strums per bar. With this alone you can already accompany any song in 4/4.
- ↓ ↓↑ ↓ ↓↑ – counted “1, 2 and, 3, 4 and”. It already sounds lively.
- ↓ ↓↑ ↑↓↑ – the popular island or calypso strum: “1, 2 and, and 4 and”. On beat 3 your hand swings down without touching the strings.
- ↓ ↓↑ ↓↑ – for 3/4 time: “1, 2 and, 3 and”. Great for waltz songs like Clementine.
How to practise a pattern
- Say the pattern out loud: “down, down-up, up-down-up”.
- Make down strums a little stronger and up strums lighter – going up you often only catch the higher strings. That’s perfectly fine.
- Start slowly with a metronome, then speed up. When you add a chord change, just keep your strumming hand moving.
The rhythm tool shows the arrows in time and can play a chord along with you. A strumming pattern isn’t a rule: if a song feels better to you with simple down strums, play it that way. Learn more about counting in Time signatures.
Practise rhythm