Practice

Your First Strum

Step 5 of 10 · Beginner Guitar Path

From steady down-strums to the "old faithful" D-DU-UDU pattern.

What you'll learn

  • Keep a steady down-strum in time
  • Play the D-DU-UDU strumming pattern
  • Use constant strumming-hand motion for an even groove

Your strumming hand keeps time, so start there. Hold the pick lightly between your thumb and first finger and brush down across the strings — one relaxed stroke on every beat. Count "1, 2, 3, 4" out loud and aim for four even down-strums per bar before you add anything fancy.

Once steady down-strums feel automatic, keep your hand moving down-and-up the whole time, like a pendulum, and simply miss the strings on the strokes you do not want. That constant motion is the secret to an even groove. From there, try the "old faithful" pattern: down, down-up, up-down-up (written D  D-U  U-D-U) — the backbone of countless songs.

Practise against a steady click with the metronome, start slow, and only speed up when the rhythm stays relaxed. Dig deeper in the strumming technique guide, or see and hear the patterns at any tempo in the strumming trainer; then loop the pattern over a single chord until your hand does it without thinking.

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