Rhythmic Notation
When reading strumming patterns on the guitar, a variation of standard notation called Rhythmic Notation is used to write out the rhythm in the strumming hand. When playing chords, rhythmic notation is commonly used to indicate a strumming pattern in the right hand.
Whole Notes, Half Notes, Quarter Notes, and Eighth Notes in Rhythmic Notation
As you can see from the example above, rhythmic notation values are exactly the same as regular note values, yet the note-heads are elongated across multiple lines and spaces on the staff in order to avoid representing any one single pitch on the staff.
Any strummed note that falls on a downbeat will be played as a downstroke, and anything falling on the upbeats (on the “+”) will be played as an upstroke. This is a rule we will always follow no matter how complex the strumming pattern or combination of notes.
In the examples below, notice how each quarter note is strummed using a downstroke. This is because each quarter note falls on beats 1, 2, 3, and 4. When we add the eighth notes, the downbeats are still strummed using downstrokes while the upbeats are strummed using an upstroke.
Practice strumming on the downbeat, for each quarter note using a Downstroke
The eighth notes in between the beats, called upbeats, will be played with Upstrokes.
