How to Strum on the Guitar

One of the best things I ever learned was how to strum and keep time. In fact, learning one specific secret rule helped me to make sure I could sight-read a rhythm and play it correctly the first time I ever saw it.

The rule is – strum down on a strong beat and up on a weak beat.

For example, if the time signature is 4/4 time and if you are playing quarter and eighth notes, we can call beats 1, 2, 3 and 4 strong beats so you would strum down on each of those four beats. You would then strum up on the weak beats or beats 1+, 2+, 3+ and 4+.

Therefore,

1       +      2        +     3        +     4       +

Down  Up  Down  Up  Down  Up  Down  Up

Stay tuned for more strumming secrets to make your playing “rock” solid! Pun intended!

Learn more about strumming at:

My Strumming Course

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Is Music a Universal Language?