Eighth-Note Down Strums

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

Eight even down strums a bar: driving and simple, the sound of a lot of rock and punk. Written in arrows it is DD DD DD DD.

The player above plays it at 90 BPM over the chords C – G – Am – F. Press Start to hear it, or slow it down to see each stroke.

How to count Eighth-note downs

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.

DD DD DD DD fills all eight eighth-note slots in the bar: all of them down strokes. Four strokes fall on the beat and four between beats. The bar ends with a down strum on the “&” of 4: change chord straight after it.

Playing it

Eight downs a bar tire a tense arm quickly. Keep the motion small, let the pick glide over the strings, and lift the hand just clear of them on the way back up.

All down strokes

Lift the hand just clear of the strings between strokes. Keep that return small: at 90 BPM each eighth note lasts 333 ms.

Practise it step by step

Rhythm only: mute the strings with your fretting hand and play it while saying “1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &”.
Hold C, set slow motion to ×0.5 (45 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 54 BPM, with the click on if you want the beat under you.
Chord changes: C – G – Am – F, one a bar (or every 2 bars until the changes are clean).
Up 4 BPM at a time to 90 BPM, then toward 130 BPM for faster songs.

At 90 BPM a bar lasts 2.67 seconds and you play 180 strokes a minute. Slow motion at ×0.5 brings that down to 90.

Chords to try

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

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

Accent the down on beat 2, and accent the down on beat 4 and you have Driving eighths, backbeat accents (DD DD DD DD).
Accent the down on beat 1, and accent the down on beat 3 and you have Driving eighths, accents on 1 and 3 (DD DD DD DD).
Make the down on beat 2 an accented chuck, and make the down on beat 4 an accented chuck and you have Eighth-note downs, chucks on 2 and 4 (DD XD DD XD).

Change it in the pattern builder

Common questions

How do you count the Eighth-note downs strumming pattern?

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

What tempo is Eighth-note downs played at?

90 BPM here, 180 strokes a minute. Learn it near 54 BPM; songs with this feel usually sit between 70 and 130 BPM.

Is Eighth-note downs good for beginners?

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

Which chords go with Eighth-note downs?

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

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