Ukulele Strumming Patterns for Beginners

What is the most common ukulele strumming pattern?

Down, down-up, up-down-up (D DU UDU) is the most common pattern in 4/4. It fits hundreds of songs because the gap on beat 3 gives it a lilting, bouncy feel.

Count it out loud: “1, 2 &, (3) &, 4 &”. The hand still moves down on beat 3 but misses the strings – that miss is what makes the pattern swing. Learn it slowly with the player above on C and G7 first.

What are the easiest ukulele strumming patterns?

Four down strums per bar is the easiest, followed by down-up on every beat (eight even strums). Then try down, down-up (D DU) before the island strum.

Slots are quavers (in 6/8, each number is one quaver). Press Try it to load a pattern into the player.

How do you strum a ukulele?

Strum with the index finger over the point where the neck joins the body. Brush down with the back of the nail, up with the fleshy pad, and keep the wrist loose so the hand swings evenly.

1. Curl your fingers loosely as if holding a small cup; point the index finger at the strings.
2. Move from the wrist and forearm, not the whole arm.
3. Down strums play all four strings; up strums can catch just the top two or three. Both are fine.
4. Keep the hand moving down and up all the time. A gap in the pattern is a miss, not a stop.
5. Practise chord changes on the last up strum of the bar: that tiny early lift keeps the rhythm going.

• 0 0 0 3
• 0 2 1 2
• 2 0 0 0
• 2 0 1 0
• 0 2 3 2
• 2 2 2 3

The chords used by the player, as chord boxes (strings G, C, E, A from left to right; numbers in the dots are fingers).

How do you count strumming patterns?

Count “1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &” in 4/4. Down strums fall on the numbers and up strums on the “&”s, so the hand moves down on every number and up on every “&”, whether or not it touches the strings.

In 3/4 count “1 & 2 & 3 &”. In 6/8 count six even beats, “1 2 3 4 5 6”, and lean on 1 and 4. If you lose your place, go back to four downs for a bar, then add the ups again. See beats, bars and time signatures for how time signatures work.

What strumming pattern is used for 3/4 time?

For a waltz in 3/4, strum down on each of the three beats (D D D), or play down on 1 and down-up on 2 and 3 (D DU DU). Make beat 1 a little stronger.

Traditional waltzes such as Oh My Darling, Clementine and Amazing Grace (both public domain) are in 3/4. Choose “Waltz” in the player and the count changes to three beats per bar.

A 10-minute practice plan

1. 2 minutes: four downs on C at 70 beats per minute.
2. 2 minutes: down-up on every beat, changing between C and G7 every bar.
3. 3 minutes: down, down-up, then the island strum, on C, Am, F, G.
4. 3 minutes: play an easy ukulele song with the strum you like best.

Self-assessed Tick off each step when you can do it twice without stopping. Classfern’s free music tools on lessonplanner.info work in your browser; for more backing, try the metronome and backing tracks.