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:
- D D DU D
- DUDUD D
- D DUDUD
- D D D DU
- DUD D D
- D DUD DU
- DU UD D
- D DU UD
- DUDU UD
- DU UDU U