Acoustic Guitar Percussive Strumming
Learn the #1 acoustic guitar percussive strumming pattern used in tons of your favorite songs. This strumming pattern is so common, that once you learn it, you will recognize it instantly and know exactly what to do to play it.
Return to All Guitar LessonsThe first thing to do is talk about the basic rhythm and timing of this strumming pattern:
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
The timing of this pattern is an 8th note strumming pattern. Meaning we have 8 strums alternating between up and down as shown below.
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
D U D U D U D U
The key to this strumming pattern is to accent the second beat (2) and the fourth beat (4). This mimics the sound of a snare drum which is often times heard being played on beats 2 and 4 in music. This provide a nice percussive strumming sound that I like to refer to as the karate chop (X).
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
D U X U D U X U
On the second and fourth beats, you are going to chop the palm of your hand into the guitar. Don’t be afraid to hit the guitar, it won’t break. But the harder you hit the body of the guitar, the better the sound you will get out your percussive strumming.
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Acoustic guitar percussive strumming lesson:
You can watch the video below to learn about the two different percussive strumming technique you can implement depending on the song. One is more subtle, the other is more aggressive. You will have to alter your technique a little depending on which you choose to use. So make sure to check it out!