Basic Strum Patterns

by Raymund Tamayo

Aside from fretting, strumming is another basic part of guitar playing. This is the second target you must accomplish in order to play songs in the guitar.

Some key terms when it comes to learning strumming are rhythm and meter. Rhythm is music’s timing. It is the one indispensable part of music. Rhythm can exist without a melody, but a melody cannot exist without rhythm. Take for example when a drummer plays a solo.

Meanwhile, a meter is the measure of stressed and unstressed beats in music. A meter is a pattern and it makes sure that you are playing in the proper rhythm. You will learn more about rhythm and meter in future lessons.

Before knowing some of the basic strumming patterns, let us go over the correct strumming mechanics first. Here they are:

1. Strumming is more about the arm than the wrist. The arms moves with the elbow as the pivot point, not the wrist.

2. Keep your hand and wrist relaxed while holding a pick and strumming. It should not be tensed and tight. While strumming is not about the wrist, you are allowed to move the wrist in a natural fashion while strumming as long as the pivot point is the elbow.

3. Let your strum loose in long movements, not jerky short motions. There are types of songs that require that kind of strumming, but as a beginner, start with long fluid movements.

4. Strumming is not about your hand or wrist moving up or down. It is more about swinging your elbow in long, rhythmic motions.

Meters

Now, let us talk more about meters. The basic building blocks of meters are quarter notes. A quarter note is one note per beat. And one full measure or whole bar includes four quarter notes.

One – Two – Three – Four

Try strumming these four quarter notes (or one whole bar) using downward strums only. It means you will have to perform four downward strums in this one full measure.

Down – Down – Down – Down

Next is the eighth note. As the name implies, it is one-half of a quarter note. This means that for every whole bar there are eight eighth notes.

One – And – Two – And – Three – And – Four– And

Try strumming these eight eighth notes (or one whole bar) using downward and upward strums. Perform the downward strums during the numbered beats and the upward strums during the “And” beats.

One – And – Two – And – Three – And – Four– And

Down – Up – Down – Up – Down – Up – Down – Up

These are not the basic strum patterns yet, as you may notice that they are not really melodic. But it gives you a deeper understanding of strumming.