I’ve made pretty good progress with my strumming and really keeping up with rhythm seems to be the one thing that I continue to struggle a bit with and not quite yet comfortable to move onto the next module. Having said that, I practice both using a metronome and tapping my foot. What is a good temp for the metronome? I currently have it at 80 bpm but maybe thats too quick? Thanks!
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Hi @jdubya976
I think 80 bpm is a good number at a beginner level. However if you are struggling with 80, there is no harm in slowing it down and gradually building it up.
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What helped me at the point was to slow the whole change process down to slow motion, to concentrate on the feeling and timing. I extraced the chord progressions of songs and played them over and over with a metronome. As @sequences mentioned, playing open strings at your last down strum will give you some more time for the change.
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I’ve seen a lesson somewhere (may not be JG) which has DDDDU, where the U is open strings where you change chord grips. Sounds OK to me.
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Michael @sequences
One song lesson sprang to mind where Justin mentions open strings on the and after 4. It is at about 6:25 but there are plenty more mentions.
Hope that helps
Michael 
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Hello @parabol72 and welcome to the community.
Thanks for taking teh SOS Strumming course and good luck with it.
All caps alert - apologies in advance.
NEVER NEVER NEVER stop strumming to make a chord change.
That is the worst thing to do.
Solve your problem by
a] slowing down until your change speed matches the tempo of your strumming
b] practice chord changes separately (one minute changes etc)
c] simplify the strumming pattern to the point where you can make the change (one strum per bar on the count of 1, two strums per bar on the counts of 1 and 3, eventually four strums per bar on all counts).
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Wow, I really enjoyed this lesson. The strumming patterns really opened up a little door into the guitar world. 
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The Strumming Machine helps to nail these patterns.
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I am learning guitar for more than a year and make good progress. But I am still struggling with that counting technique. I tried it a lot but it confuses me every time to count 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and …but to leave out strums then. What I am trying to say: For me it is easier to just say Down Down Up Up Down because when I do not say/think the 3rd Down my hand automatically leaves out that down strum. Is it really necessary to force myself to the proper counting technique? It just does not feel comfy for me and tenses my muscles.
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Well Michael @MB75Guitar , I do count every U and D, but I kind of ‘mute’ the strokes that I don’t want to strum. If you take ‘old faithful’ for example (D_DU_UD_), I go like ‘1 m 2 and m and 4 m’. Differentiating this way has been a huge help for me to overcome the problem you describe.
Of course, you can use any type of counting you like, so you could say ‘up, up, down, down’ instead of ‘1 and etc’. Just keep in mind that 1) ‘counting’ (as in ‘making a sound at’) every up and down will make it a lot easier token you rhythm, and 2) using numbers makes it a lot easier to count barres. So just saying ‘up, up, down, down’ will risk you getting lost in the rhythm and in the song. Therefore, I would advise you to try to find a way to actually count, and maybe try what I explained above.
Good luck!
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Worth checking out this thread
Especially when you get to 16th note rhythms
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You should learn how to count while playing. It’s a useful skill, not just for strumming patterns, but also for riffs, lead lines, etc., any rhythm. If you want to go beyond 8th note strumming, you will need to know how to count properly. Or, let’s say, knowing how to count properly will help a lot.
I know, I had same sensation when learning how to count. Sometimes, things worth learning don’t feel comfy.
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Thanks for the tips and arguments. Ok, I will dive more into this and practice to count properly. I want to learn it right! 
I have another question to the more advanced players. How does it work at higher bpms? At a certain speed strums come faster as you can say or think the counts. And there are some very fast songs with 16th note strumming so I hardly believe someone can say “One e and e Two e and e…” and so on that fast. Do you always count when you play such songs either alone or in a band or does it just flow? Same when someone plays the guitar and sings at the same time. In this case the guitar play must be running in “automatic mode” as it is impossible to count and to sing at the same time.
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Ok, this lesson just really helped me. Justin said that he tends to only count the “Ands” when he plays them and everyone should do. If someone prefers to count all Ands this is also totally fine, it depends on the personal preference. And as a proof, earlier in this video he counts “One Two Three And Four”. So i will internalize that counting to go away from the DDUUDs…
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@MB75Guitar
Michael, as a practice exercise you could alternate between saying the count and the strum pattern.
So your D D U U D pattern would be -
1 2 and and 4
D D U U D
Alternating will help associate down strums with the beat and up strums with the off beat.
As Justin says, no need to say the count where there is no strum.
You should be tapping your foot on every beat even if there’s no strum. So tap on beat 3 as well, in between the two ups.
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You would only count this out loud if and when you are playing all eight strums in a bar.
… For me it is easier to just say Down Down Up Up Down
That is exactly what you should / would be saying out loud as your count when playing the Old Faithful pattern.
Say what you play and play what you say.
Richard, one more thing. In music, doesn’t downbeat refer to the first beat of a measure? Yet here Justin seems to refer to all four beats as a downbeat.
When it comes to the physical act of strumming guitar, DOWN happens four times in every bar, on the quarter beats.
Even if a player is only going to strike the strings once per bar, say on the count of 1, the best habit to create is still to move the arm four times to coincide with the quarter beats, DOWN on each. Necessarily, UP happens between those beats which is where the & counts reside and lead to counting 8ths.
I understand the mechanics of strumming in accordance with the strumming pattern. I was only referring to the use of the word “downbeat” here. Was this intentional or a mistake? I looked up the terminology and it always seems to describe downbeat as the first beat in a measure. But Justin refers to all beats (1,2,3,4) as downbeats. @0:42.
I’m asking because I’m confused by the term “downbeat” in music theory. Does it always only refer to only the first beat or can it refer to all the beats in a measure. Please describe different cases and how this is used.
Thanks!
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