161 strumming patterns from beginner to funk and Bollywood, played with real chords, with slow motion and a moving strum hand.
The chuck, a muted strum on beats 2 and 4, takes the place of the snare drum. The sound of countless acoustic pop covers. Written in arrows it is D XU D XU.
The player above plays it at 92 BPM over the chords Am – F – C – G. Press Start to hear it, or slow it down to see each stroke.
| 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.
D XU D XU uses six of the eight eighth-note slots in the bar: four down and two up, with the hand swinging past the strings twice. Four strokes fall on the beat and two 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.
To chuck, let the palm of your strumming hand land on the strings as it strums down, or lift your fretting fingers just off the frets so the strings go dead. It should sound like a snare drum: short and dry, with no notes.
On the “&” of 1 and the “&” of 3 the hand moves without touching the strings. Keep it moving there, in the same down-up rhythm.
On the “&” of 2 and the “&” of 4, brush the top three or four strings, a little softer than the downs.
On beat 2 and beat 4, strum with the strings muted for a dry “chk” instead of a chord.
At 92 BPM a bar lasts 2.61 seconds and you play 138 strokes a minute. Slow motion at ×0.5 brings that down to 69.
Acoustic pop strumming copies the drum kit. The chuck stands in for the snare on beats 2 and 4, and sixteenth-note patterns copy the busy hi-hat, so one guitar can sound like a whole rhythm section in a cover or a singer-songwriter set.
Change it in the pattern builder
Count “1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &” and play down on beat 1, chuck on beat 2, up on the “&” of 2, down on beat 3, chuck on beat 4 and up on the “&” of 4.
92 BPM here, 138 strokes a minute. Learn it near 56 BPM; songs with this feel usually sit between 80 and 125 BPM.
Yes, once four downs and chord changes feel easy. The one moment to watch is the change from the down to the chuck on beat 2; start it at ×0.5, 46 BPM.
Lift your fretting fingers just enough that the strings stop sounding, or let your strumming palm land on them as you strum. It should sound like a snare drum.