This lesson plan is great for beginner guitarists and ukulele players. The D = Down and U = Up markings are used widely online, and are easy to follow for beginners and all. This sheet is best used by a teacher because they will instantly know how to demonstrate the rhythms. For those self taught players, if there are spaces in between like this “D D D D” then they are one beat each, but if they are joined like DUDU then they are quavers (8th notes), which are half a beat, so they are faster.

For complete beginners, try starting with chords like Em and Am on guitar, and C, Am and F on ukulele, as they can be played fairly easily and learned without reading.

Strumming Lesson With Basic Chords

D = DOWN
U = UP

Practice these chords with each rhythm: G, Em, F, E7, C, D, Dm, A, Am, G7.

Repeat 4x each:

  1. D D DU D
  2. DUDUD D
  3. D DUDUD
  4. D D D DU
  5. DUD D D
  6. D DUD DU
  7. DU UD D
  8. D DU UD
  9. DUDU UD
  10. DU UDU U