Two-beat bass and strum, the pulse of polkas and fast folk dances. Written in arrows it is B D, in 2/4.
The player above plays it at 110 BPM over the chords D – A – Bm – G. Press Start to hear it, or slow it down to see each stroke.
161 strumming patterns from beginner to funk and Bollywood, played with real chords, with slow motion and a moving strum hand.
Two-beat bass and strum, the pulse of polkas and fast folk dances. Written in arrows it is B D, in 2/4.
The player above plays it at 110 BPM over the chords D – A – Bm – G. Press Start to hear it, or slow it down to see each stroke.
| Count | 1 | & | 2 | & |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strum | B | · | ↓ | · |
| Hand | ↓ | ↑ | ↓ | ↑ |
Say the count out loud and strum only on the bold words: 1 & 2 &
↓ 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 uses two of the four eighth-note slots in the bar: all of them down strokes, with the hand swinging past the strings twice. Every stroke lands on a beat, so it is as steady as rhythm gets. The bar ends with a silent swing on the “&” of 2, a free moment to move your fretting hand to the next chord.
At polka speed the bass note and the strum alternate fast, so keep the strum short and light. The off-beat “chick” is what makes people want to dance.
On every “&” the hand moves without touching the strings. Keep it moving there, in the same down-up rhythm.
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.
At 110 BPM a bar lasts 1.09 seconds and you play 110 strokes a minute. Slow motion at ×0.5 brings that down to 55.
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 &” and play bass note on beat 1 and down on beat 2.
110 BPM here, 110 strokes a minute. Learn it near 66 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 end of the bar, from the “&” of 2 into the next bar, where the chord changes; start it at ×0.5, 55 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.