That pesky metronome is at it again. 
I can play to the beat when I’m doing down strums, no problem. The issue arises when I start my 8th note strumming and I think the metronome may be out 
(I’m using the Justin one on my phone), as when I play along to the actual song, I stay in time.
Why can’t I nail this 8th note timing with the metronome? Top tips welcome.
Thanks. 
Stefan are you pumping 8ths or is it alternate DUDUDUDU ? My advice, count to the metronome beat and get the feel in your head before starting to strum. Working with a metronome you can get to a point where you are too fast or slow and you think its the metronome that’s wrong, like it feels like it suddenly speeded up !! Counting worked for me bur we are all different.
Hi Stefan - have you tried the disappearing metronome trick? The time trainer app is fantastic for applying that training technique. When working on the RUST patterns in Justin’s Strumming Techniques Course I normally incorporate random beat drops and bar breaks to make sure I’m not chasing or anticipating the click.
It definitely takes practice to get the up-strums timed correctly.
I struggle with the metronome a lot, as well.
What I did to time the up-strums was slow way down, or speed up the metronome for a little while and practice down on one click and up on the next click. It didn’t take long to get the feel of the even down-up strumming and then I went back to the metronome in the usual way, with my ups more accurately timed. I also tried this with 6/8 and it was helpful.
@TheMadman_tobyjenner It is the pumping down strums I’m talking about Toby. Thanks, I’ll give the counting a go.
@Socio Thanks for that James, I have watched that video and there are times that the metronome does disappear but it doesn’t stay gone for long.
@Jamolay I’ll slow it down some Joshua and along with the counting, I’ll hopefully finally get there.
I’ve been working on this for quite a while but have been struggling to get it spot on.
It is a skill to learn I think. For me, the added concentration of trying to follow the metronome is enough for my fingers to loose all sense of what to do while practicing fingerpicking, or anything beyond simpler strumming patterns.
I understand that the metronome is eventually just a background guide to keep one’s pace, but I am still at the stage where it is not background and it can be distracting.
More practice, more practice, more practice!
The way that I practice this is
Set the metronome to a relatively low BPM around 70ish
Mute the strings with the fretting hand
Start by strumming the DUDUDUDU and get the feel going
Without stopping switch to the all downs
If I get out of sync I switch back to the DU pattern until I sync-up and then back to all downs
It seems to work for me
Glen