To see and hear

Ukulele strumming patterns

11 strumming patterns for ukulele, from four down-strums to the shuffle and reggae. Each is shown as a bar of counts with an arrow under every strum: ↓ down, ↑ up, × a muted chuck, a small arrow a lighter strum. Press Play to hear it over a few chords, and play along.

How to read the patterns

Count each bar out loud: “1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and”. Down-strums fall on the numbers and up-strums on the “and”s. The strumming hand keeps moving down and up the whole time, even where there is no arrow: it just misses the strings. That steady motion keeps you in time.

Tempo80
1

Down on every beat

4/4

The first strum: one down-strum on each beat, with the pad of the index finger or the thumb.

2

Driving down-up

4/4

Down on the beat, up on the “and”, the index finger brushing the strings both ways. The hand never stops moving.

3

The island strum

4/4

The island strum, the ukulele’s best known pattern: down, down-up, up-down-up. On beat three the hand moves down without touching the strings.

4

Syncopated pop

4/4

The island strum with the last down-strum left out, so the next chord arrives early.

5

Pop with a muted backbeat

4/4

The ukulele chuck on beats two and four: the side of the strumming hand mutes the strings as it strikes them, a click like a snare drum.

6

Waltz with up-strums

3/4

Three beats to the bar, for waltzes and songs in 3/4.

7

12/8 ballad

4/4, triplets

Each beat split in three: slow songs in 6/8 and 12/8.

8

Shuffle

4/4, swung

Swung eighths, long-short: blues, swing and many old ukulele songs.

9

Sixteenth folk-pop

4/4, sixteenths

The island strum twice as fast, a down or an up on every sixteenth.

10

Reggae skank

4/4

Short chops on beats two and four, choked at once.

11

Ska upstrokes

4/4

A short up-chop on every offbeat.

Practising a pattern

  • Start slow. Play along at 60 or 70 beats a minute, and only go faster when the pattern feels easy for a whole minute.
  • One chord first. Learn the pattern on one chord, then on two, changing on beat 1. If the change is late, leave out the last up-strum of the bar to give the fretting hand time.
  • Keep the hand moving. Most mistakes come from stopping the hand for a missing strum. Move it anyway, just above the strings.
  • With a click. The metronome keeps a steady beat to strum against.

Where next

Learn the chords to strum on the beginner chords page, practise the changes with the chord change trainer, or strum along with any chord progression: every progression plays with the pattern you choose.

Questions

What is the most common ukulele strumming pattern?

The island strum: down, down-up, up-down-up (D DU UDU). It fits a great many ukulele songs.

What is the easiest strumming pattern?

Four down-strums, one on each beat. Then down-up on every beat, then the island strum.

Should I strum with a pick?

Most ukulele players strum with the index finger, nail side down and pad side up, or the thumb. A felt pick is softer if you want one.

How do I get faster?

Play the pattern slowly and evenly with a metronome, then raise the tempo by five beats a minute once it feels easy. Evenness first, speed later.