161 strumming patterns from beginner to funk and Bollywood, played with real chords, with slow motion and a moving strum hand.
Bass note, strum, other bass note, strum: the walking feel of country and folk. Pick the root of the chord, then another bass string. Written in arrows it is B D B D.
The player above plays it at 100 BPM over the chords G – C – D. Press Start to hear it, or slow it down to see each stroke.
| Count | 1 | & | 2 | & | 3 | & | 4 | & |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strum | B | · | ↓ | · | b | · | ↓ | · |
| Hand | ↓ | ↑ | ↓ | ↑ | ↓ | ↑ | ↓ | ↑ |
Say the count out loud and strum only on the bold words: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
↓ down · ↑ up · ✕ chuck (muted) · B bass note · b second bass note · bold: accent · dashed: palm-muted · underlined: short. The last row is the strumming hand, which keeps moving even where nothing sounds.
B D B D uses four of the eight eighth-note slots in the bar: all of them down strokes, with the hand swinging past the strings four times. Every stroke lands on a beat, so it is as steady as rhythm gets. The bar ends with a silent swing on the “&” of 4, a free moment to move your fretting hand to the next chord.
For the “boom”, pick the root on the lowest string of the chord: the 6th string for G and E, the 5th for C, A and B7, the 4th for D. On the second boom, move to another bass string of the same chord.
On every “&” the hand moves without touching the strings. Keep it moving there, in the same down-up rhythm.
Lift the hand just clear of the strings between strokes. Keep that return small: at 100 BPM each eighth note lasts 300 ms.
On beat 1, pick only the chord’s root on its lowest string: the 6th string for G, the 5th for C, the 4th for D. On beat 3, pick another bass note of the same chord, a string or two higher.
At 100 BPM a bar lasts 2.40 seconds and you play 100 strokes a minute. Slow motion at ×0.5 brings that down to 50.
Folk and country strumming splits the chord in two: a bass note picked on its own, then a strum of the higher strings. Alternating between two bass notes makes the bass line walk, the sound of country, bluegrass and campfire songs.
Change it in the pattern builder
Count “1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &” and play bass note on beat 1, down on beat 2, second bass note on beat 3 and down on beat 4.
100 BPM here, 100 strokes a minute. Learn it near 60 BPM; songs with this feel usually sit between 90 and 130 BPM.
Yes, once four downs and chord changes feel easy. The one moment to watch is the change from the down to the second bass note on beat 3; start it at ×0.5, 50 BPM.
The chord’s root on its lowest string (6th string for G, 5th for C and A, 4th for D), then another bass note of the same chord for the alternating bass.