Progressive Guitar

Three beginner guitar strumming patterns every guitarist needs to learn.

One of the biggest breakthroughs for beginner guitarists is realising you don’t need hundreds of strumming patterns to play songs.

In fact, a small number of patterns appear again and again across thousands of popular songs.

Today I’m going to show you three of the most useful beginner guitar strumming patterns.

You’ve probably heard all three of these before.

Songbird, Knocking on Heaven’s Door and Riptide.

These songs sound completely different, but the rhythms behind them are built from the same basic ideas.

By the end of this article, you’ll understand how these patterns work, why they sound different, and where you can use them.

Pattern 1: Songbird

Let’s start with one of the most common beginner patterns. This is the type of rhythm used in songs like Songbird by Oasis.

The pattern is:

Down, Down, Up, Down, Up, Down, Up

1 2 and 3 and 4 and

The reason this pattern works so well is because it creates a constant flow. The hand keeps moving, and the rhythm feels smooth and natural.

This is one of the first patterns where your strumming starts to sound less like an exercise and more like actual music.

This pattern alone will allow you to play hundreds of songs. But it does have one limitation. If you use this rhythm for everything, your playing can start to feel a little predictable.

The next beginner guitar strumming pattern introduces something that completely changes the feel. Space.

Pattern 2: Knocking On Heaven’s Door

The second pattern is based around a different idea. Instead of filling every moment, we leave room in the rhythm. You can hear this in songs like Knocking on Heaven’s Door by Bob Dylan.

The pattern I’m playing here is:

Down, Down, Down, Up.

1 3 4 and

 The difference is that first downstroke lasts longer. The important thing here is understanding that the gap is part of the rhythm.

A lot of beginners think better strumming means playing more. But often, the opposite is true. The spaces between the strums are what create the groove.

Your hand keeps moving, but you choose when to hit the strings. This idea is incredibly important because rhythm isn’t just about the sounds you make. It’s also about the sounds you leave out.

There is one more important way we can change the feel of a strumming pattern. Instead of adding space we can change the movement and create more energy.

Pattern 3: Riptide

The final pattern is one you’ll hear constantly in modern acoustic guitar. A great example is Riptide by Vance Joy.

The pattern is:

Down, Down, Up, Down, Up

1, +, (2)e, +, a, 3, +, (4)e, +, a

This one feels different because the up-strums create more forward movement.

Again, the hand movement stays relaxed. The difference comes from where the strings are being played. This is what makes strumming musical. 

The same basic movements can create completely different feels depending on how you use them.

Putting The Three Together

Let’s compare these three patterns.

We’ll play E minor with each pattern here.

The first pattern: Down, Down, Up, Down, Up, Down, Up, creates a smooth, flowing rhythm.

The second: Down, Down, Down, Up, uses space to create a more relaxed feel.

The third: Down, Down, Up, Down, Up, creates more movement and energy.

The important thing isn’t learning hundreds of different patterns. It’s understanding the small number of rhythmic ideas that appear again and again in the songs you want to play.

Practice Plan

For your practice, don’t try to learn all three patterns at once. Pick one, choose one chord, and spend five minutes a day making it feel natural. Once that rhythm feels comfortable, start applying it to songs.

The next challenge is using these patterns while changing chords, because that’s where a lot of beginners get stuck. That’s what we’ll cover in this video, where we look at the strumming pattern and chords for Songbird in more detail. https://youtu.be/Qt141S_PlzA

You can watch the video accompaniment to this article here, https://youtu.be/DaCiAjUQ21g

Want a structured path for learning guitar?
If you’re tired of jumping between random YouTube videos and want to know exactly what to learn next, my Progressive Guitar course takes you through the skills step by step, so you always know what to practise and why. Find out more here, https://andrewhowes.podia.com/the-progressive-guitar-program