If you are using the Old Faithful strumming pattern, for example, and playing a song with a chord change after two beats, is it correct that you not play the new chord until the up strum at “3+”? It seems odd if the new chord is not played on the beginning beat after the chord change. Basically, what should happen when there is chord change at a point in a strumming pattern where strums are left out?
Hi @lawboyhd, as you say, with Old Faithful, you don’t strum on the 3rd beat, so if there’s a chord change on 3, you don’t strum - that is, if you adhere closely to Old Faithful. That’s why it’s not such a great strumming pattern in those cases. However, there’s nothing wrong with a little variation, like strumming on the 3rd beat in those measures where you have a chord change on 3. Just play around a bit, try different patterns and see (hear) what sounds best to you - after all, if it sounds good, it is good!
There is a lot of discussion on this very topic in a previous thread, well worth reading. I particularly like the advice given here
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Thanks all, I figured it had come up before but there are quite a few lessons about strumming and could not find this specific point!
I have already started to make up my own strumming patterns but they don’t sound as good as I want them to . How do I get them to sound better???
Sorry the emoji are not what I wanted:
Justin recommends practicing new strumming patterns with the strings muted with your fretting hand resting on the strings. Start slow and gradually increase your speed with practice. Have fun.
Thank you so much SteveL_G99! I hope you have blast with your guitar journy!
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Really struggled with these dumb:“1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and…”
So I quickly assigned some quick 8-syllable lyrics to the lot.
" I don’t know which sha-dow gets me. "
You might choose some happier catch phrase though 
Works instantly much better 
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How do you set the metronome for quarter, eighth and sixteenth note strumming patterns.
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I’m sure it does! That’s how a Music Teacher (Suzuki method) taught us to do to make young children explore Rhythms…and with my pupils we march in circle with phrases like
Cam-mi-nan-do pas-seg-gian-do man-gio pa-ta-ti-ne fri-tte (= walking, having a walk I eat french fries) …
…then we invented other fun things one can do while having a walk like * be-vo Co-ca-Co-la fre-sca* (= I drink fresh Coke) following the original Rhythmical pattern.
I never applied this to strumming though as the numbers worked well with me.
The metronome gives you the beat, so you set it just the same.
Simplifying:
- with quarter strumming you do just one downstrum each click
- with eighth notes strumming you do both a downstrum and an upstrum each click (if it’s not an all down strumming pattern, in which case you do two downstrums each click, usually a full one and a small one on the thickest strings only)
- with 16th notes you do DUDU each click