Sixteenth-Note Push Strumming Pattern

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

Sixteenth-note pop: an up strum just before beats 2 and 4 pushes the groove forward. Written in arrows it is DU DD DU DD.

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

How to count Sixteenth push

Count	1	e	&	a	2	e	&	a	3	e	&	a	4	e	&	a
Strum	↓	·	·	↑	↓	·	↓	·	↓	·	·	↑	↓	·	↓	·
Hand	↓	↑	↓	↑	↓	↑	↓	↑	↓	↑	↓	↑	↓	↑	↓	↑

Say the count out loud and strum only on the bold words: 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a

↓ 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 DD DU DD uses eight of the sixteen sixteenth-note slots in the bar: six down and two up, with the hand swinging past the strings eight times. Four strokes fall on the beat and four between beats. The bar ends with a silent swing on the “a” of 4, a free moment to move your fretting hand to the next chord.

Playing it

Count “1 e & a” on every beat. The up strums on the “a” just before beats 2 and 4 are what push the groove forward, so make sure they are early, not late.

Silent swings

On the “e” of 1, the “&” of 1, the “e” of 2, the “a” of 2, and so on the hand moves without touching the strings. Keep it moving there, in the same down-up rhythm.

Up strums

On the “a” of 1 and the “a” of 3, 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 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a”.
Hold C, 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 silent swing on the “&” of 1 into the up strum on the “a” of 1.
Normal speed at 48 BPM, counting “1 e & a” with the hand moving on every sixteenth.
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 80 BPM, then toward 125 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

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

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

Common questions

How do you count the Sixteenth push strumming pattern?

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

What tempo is Sixteenth push played at?

80 BPM here, 160 strokes a minute. Learn it near 48 BPM; songs with this feel usually sit between 80 and 125 BPM.

Is Sixteenth push good for beginners?

It is intermediate: the hard part is the silent swing on the “&” of 1 into the up strum on the “a” of 1. Get D DU D DU and D DU UDU steady first, then take this one from 48 BPM.

Which chords go with Sixteenth push?

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

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