Three-Beat Downstrokes — 3/4 Strumming Pattern

Sixteen strumming patterns, each on its own page: the arrow chart with counting, the tempo sweet spot, the genres it drives, and a one-tap hand-off into the play-along trainer preloaded with that pattern.

Three-Beat Downstrokes is a beginner 3/4 strumming pattern: D· D· D·, counted 1 & 2 & 3 &. Your strumming hand never stops — it swings down and up through every slot, and the pattern comes from which passes actually touch the strings. That constant pendulum is what keeps the rhythm locked, so practice the motion before the notes.

The simplest waltz strum — one downstroke on each of the three beats, accented on beat 1. A perfect first pattern for 3/4 time. It sits best between 70 and 150 BPM — start near 110 with a metronome, and only speed up once every strum lands clean. Heard most in waltz, country.