Down-Up Strumming Pattern

161 strumming patterns from beginner to funk and Bollywood, played with real chords, with slow motion and a moving strum hand.

Down on the beat, up on the “and”: the constant hand motion every other pattern is cut from. Written in arrows it is DU DU DU DU.

The player above plays it at 80 BPM over the chords Em – C – G – D. Press Start to hear it, or slow it down to see each stroke.

How to count Down-ups

Count	1	&	2	&	3	&	4	&
Strum	↓	↑	↓	↑	↓	↑	↓	↑
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.

DU DU DU DU fills all eight eighth-note slots in the bar: four down and four up. Four strokes fall on the beat and four between beats. The bar ends with an up strum on the “&” of 4: many players let go of the chord there and change while the open strings ring.

Playing it

Keep the up strums lighter and catch only the top three or four strings; the down strums carry the bass of the chord. Swing from the elbow like a relaxed pendulum rather than from the wrist alone.

Up strums

On every “&”, brush the top three or four strings, a little softer than the downs.

Practise it step by step

Rhythm only: mute the strings with your fretting hand and play it while saying “1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &”.
Hold Em, set slow motion to ×0.5 (40 BPM) and play along until four bars in a row are even.
Loop the trickiest moment on its own: the end of the bar, from the “&” of 4 into the next bar, where the chord changes.
Normal speed at 48 BPM, with the click on if you want the beat under you.
Chord changes: Em – C – G – D, one a bar (or every 2 bars until the changes are clean).
Up 4 BPM at a time to 80 BPM, then toward 130 BPM for faster songs.

At 80 BPM a bar lasts 3.00 seconds and you play 160 strokes a minute. Slow motion at ×0.5 brings that down to 80.

Chords to try

Em – C – G – D G – C – D C – G – Am – F

The essential patterns use only plain down and up strums in eighth notes. The strumming hand swings down on every beat and up on every “&”, and each pattern is just a choice of which of those eight swings touch the strings. Two or three of them, played well, will carry most pop, folk and film songs.

One step away

Leave out the up on the “&” of 1 and you have D DU DU DU.
Leave out the up on the “&” of 3 and you have DUDU D DU (DU DU D DU).
Leave out the up on the “&” of 4 and you have DUDUDU D (DU DU DU D).
Leave out the up on the “&” of 1, and leave out the up on the “&” of 3 and you have D DU D DU.
Leave out the up on the “&” of 1, and leave out the down on beat 3 and you have D DU UDU.

Change it in the pattern builder

Common questions

How do you count the Down-ups strumming pattern?

Count “1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &” and play down on beat 1, up on the “&” of 1, down on beat 2, up on the “&” of 2, down on beat 3, up on the “&” of 3, down on beat 4 and up on the “&” of 4.

What tempo is Down-ups played at?

80 BPM here, 160 strokes a minute. Learn it near 48 BPM; songs with this feel usually sit between 70 and 130 BPM.

Is Down-ups good for beginners?

Yes. With only eight strokes a bar it leaves plenty of time for chord changes.

Which chords go with Down-ups?

Any chords. Try Em – C – G – D, or G – C – D, or C – G – Am – F, or type your own in Advanced.

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