Fun Strumming Patterns to Spice Up Your Rhythm Guitar

Do you strum the same few patterns for almost every song you play?

Well, you won’t anymore. I’m going to teach you some fun strumming patterns to spice up your rhythm guitar!

Whether you need more strumming patterns in your repertoire, need some strumming to accompany your chicken picking, or you just want some fun ways to freshen up your playing, this video lesson will do the trick.

I’ve detailed all of the patterns below so you can follow along with the video.

Watch to the end for the Golden Rule of Strumming, so you can learn patterns faster and make up new ones of your own.

Originally published on January 05, 2019, this post was republished on September 21, 2022.

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The Boom Chick Pattern

The first strumming pattern we’re going to look at is the “Book Chick” pattern. It allows you to add a little bit of depth to your bass notes while working in some strumming, providing an almost two-dimensional sonic experience.

Let’s use a G chord to illustrate how to do it. 

Keep in mind that all the strokes you use for this pattern are down strokes.

If you need a little refresher on how to get better at picking, then check out these finger-picking tips before carrying on.

Alright, let’s go:

• Start by picking just the low E string
• Next, perform a full down strum of the chord
• Then, hit the D string
• And again, another full down strum of the chord.

The “Boom” part of the pattern comes from hitting the bass notes, while the “Chick” part comes from strumming the full chord. It’s that easy!

Watch my full video lesson on the “Boom Chick” pattern if you want a little more help nailing it down.

The Boom-Chicka Pattern

Wait, didn’t we just cover this strumming pattern?

Not quite. The “Boom-Chicka” is a variation of the “Boom-Chick”, but with one important difference.

This pattern is exactly the same as the “Boom-Chick”, but you’re going to follow every down strum with an up strum.

Let me break that down step-by-step:

• Start by picking the low E string
• Next, perform a full down strum of the chord
• Then, strum on the way up
• Pick the D string
• Perform a full down strum of the chord
• Strum again on the way up

This little addition changes the rhythm of the strumming pattern, giving it a delicate accent and an additional layer of tonality. 

Keep in mind you don’t have to hit all of 6 strings when performing the up strum – just try and get the two or three highest strings.

The Bluegrass Rhythm Technique (or Syncopated Strum)

Technically this next technique is called the “Syncopated Strum”, but nobody uses that term so we’re going to call it the “Bluegrass Rhythm Technique”.

The cool thing about this technique is that it adds enough space to the rhythm that you can play it at higher speeds without feeling too overwhelmed.

Here’s how you do it:

• Start by hitting the low E string
• Next, perform a full down strum of the chord
• Now perform an up-down-up stroke

The Waltz Strum

The Waltz strum is performed the same way that a Waltz is danced, which is three beats per measure. This is contrary to a lot of popular songs, which are in common time, so four beats per measure.

Here’s how you do it:

• Start by hitting the low E string
• Next, perform a full down strum of the chord
• Now perform a down-up stroke

While this might not seem like the most ubiquitous strumming pattern out there, it’s great to learn anyway. If you ever find yourself at a friend’s wedding or maybe in a bluegrass band, this pattern will definitely come in handy!

The Rule Breaker

This last strumming pattern that I’m going to show you actually breaks the golden rule of strumming (strumming down on the downbeat and up on the upbeat) which is why I call it “The Rule Breaker”.

Now this pattern works really well if you’re trying to add texture to your song.

It works by playing a series of eighth notes (one-and-two-and-three-and-four) but all downstrokes. So instead of strumming up and down, you’re only going to strum down.

To achieve a better tone, you’re also going to palm mute while you play this pattern. 

To do that, take the fleshy part of your palm and place it on the saddle of the guitar, right where the strings break over.

Then, play eight successive downstrokes, trying to hit the top two or three strings. Notice how the sound is muted, but the chord still comes through. 

And that’s it! Now that you know how to play five types of strumming patterns, you have a variety of tools in your guitar-playing toolbox.

If you liked this lesson and want more ideas on how to practice rhythm guitar, check out this post.

For daily exercises and tutorials on a host of other techniques like playing power chords – check out Tony’s Acoustic Challenge. 

If you’re looking to build a consistent, life-long guitar practice, watch this FREE guitar class, where I show you the three secrets to faster guitar learning in 10 minutes a day.