Are you still struggling with strumming?

Don't worry. This is more common than you think, but here is how you'll master it!

For many beginner guitar players, chord changes will be the hardest struggle. But for many - maybe even more! - the big problem will be to play a nice, relaxed, and consistent rhythm. To master guitar strumming, you must first understand what's happening with the movement in your arm. And this lesson is all about that!

We'll go through all the strumming basics and exercises I've been teaching in live workshops for years, and you'll learn an exercise that will help you play the strumming pattern you want. You’ll be able to work out song rhythms and improve your confidence when making your own strumming variations!

Ready? Let's go :)

Before You Start: These 3 tips will help you succeed!

Before we dive into strumming, let's review some important beginner guitar reminders.

Use a thin pick - they are more flexible and easier to use! Thin picks are more forgiving in your early strumming practice!
Relax your strumming arm and rest it comfortably over the top of your guitar. Make sure you're feeling nice and loose!
The strumming motion comes from your elbow, not your wrist! Be mindful of this to prevent pain :)

Now let's get started.

Learn Any Strumming Guitar Pattern

You'll start by playing four beats per bar using down-strums. Once you start strumming, focus on keeping the rhythm consistent. Aim for a flow of consistent motion with your strumming arm. Keep this same motion throughout the exercise without stopping.

Once you can keep it steady with four beats per bar, you can move on to manipulating the rhythm and strumming pattern. This is the fun part ;)

To manipulate the guitar rhythm, start playing around with different random strumming patterns. The basic four down-strum also has four up-strums. These up strums are the "ands" that come between your four counts. Now it's time to start strumming on these up-strums. To help guide yourself, you can try counting the beats out loud.

💡 So now, you've got eight strums to work with - pretty cool, right?

Make sure you keep that initial four beats per bar strumming motion. Then, determine which up strums and down strums you'd like to include in your new pattern. Experiment with different ones - be your own strumming boss! :)

For the beats you're not playing, lift your pick off of the strings. Your strumming arm is making the same motion, but no sound will come out of the guitar.

I'll repeat this again - KEEP YOUR ARM MOVING! I promise - it'll help you experiment with different strumming patterns and keep a steady beat.

How to Practice Any Strumming Pattern

The key with guitar strumming is to feel completely comfortable playing a specific rhythm. Strumming should come so to you that it becomes almost mindless. After all, how are you ever going to sing and play at the same time if you can't get this down? More playing, less thinking :)

To practice, try to carry on a conversation while practicing your strumming without breaking the pattern. Strumming should come so to you that it becomes almost mindless.

I recommend practicing strumming patterns on muted strings. Doing this is super helpful - especially for beginners. Muting the strings will help you only concentrate only the strumming! Tapping your foot is also a great way to keep your guitar strumming timing consistent.

Pick a few strumming patterns that you like and focus on playing those well. These will be useful to have as you progress and learn to play more songs!

Free PDF Available!

Log in and get a PDF I created just for you! :) It's 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + printed a bunch of times, so you do this exercise several times. It's super helpful to help you make up your strumming patterns or even take notes from my song lessons.

Don't forget to track your progress! Add this lesson to your practice routine schedule.