How to Instantly Make Your Strumming Sound More Musical

Most guitar players start out strumming with a basic up-and-down pattern. It works, but it often sounds stiff or flat. With just a few small tweaks, you can make even the simplest chords sound much more musical.

In this lesson, I’ll show you three simple ways to bring your strumming to life using accents, spacing, and muted strums.

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How to read the guitar chord charts

how to read the chord charts, the top horizontal line represents the high E string and the bottom horizontal line represents the low E string. The vertical lines separate each fret. The numbers in the blue dots tell you which fingers to use on the fretting hand. 

For example, on the D Major chord, you use the:

• 1st finger on the 3rd string, 2nd fret
• 3rd finger on the 2nd string, 3rd fret
• 2nd finger on the 1st string, 2nd fret
• 4th string is open (circles represent open strings)
• X means to avoid a string

You can check this link for more on how to read guitar notation symbols.

Chords We’re Using

The basic chords we’re using are C add 2, G Major, E minor and D Major. You can click on these chords with links to learn different ways of playing that chord on guitar.

Try the following chords one at a time until you feel comfortable switching between them.

Here are some other resources on chords:

• Master the basic chords on guitar
• 6 tips to get better at switching between chords on guitar
  

Chord Progression

Rhythmic Notation

Before we move on, here’s what rhythmic notation looks like compared to standard notation. Since you’re note playing single notes, they rhythmic notation tells you how to play the chords instead.

Basic Pattern

The first step is breaking out of the plain up-and-down strum. Try playing each example for every chord to complete up the chord progression.

💎 Practice Tip: Think like a drummer: by accenting certain beats, you create a natural groove.

Adding Rhythm

Strumming Pattern 1

We’re adding notes between the 8th notes which creates 16th notes. For ease of counting, we can split each beat in 4 by saying “1, e, and, a… 2, e, and, a… etc…

Strumming Pattern 2

Strumming Pattern 3

✨ Want to go deeper? Pro Members get the complete toolkit for this lesson — including the PDF with all strumming variations and a play-along track. Join here →

Adding Spacing

Another way to make your strumming sound more musical is by adding space. Let some strums ring out instead of filling every beat. This creates breathing room and keeps the rhythm from feeling crowded.

Strumming Pattern 4

Strumming Pattern 5

Strumming Pattern 6

Strumming Pattern 7

Adding Muted Strums

Muted strums add a percussive element that makes your rhythm pop.

There are a few ways to do this:

• Relax your fretting hand so the strings click when strummed.
• On chords like E minor, use fingers you’re not fretting with to lightly mute the strings.
• Palm muting works too — gently rest your palm on the strings while strumming.

💎 Practice Tip: When you practice, keep it slow at first. Even loop a single chord and focus on just one idea — accents, spacing, or muting — until it feels comfortable . Groove comes from consistency, not speed.

Strumming Pattern 8

The notes with an X represent the muted strums in the notation below.

✨ Pro Members get the complete toolkit for this lesson — including the PDF with all strumming variations and a play-along track. Join here →

Wrapping Up

By combining accents, spacing, and muted strums, you can transform basic chord progressions into something much more musical.

Try these ideas with the chord progression above, then apply them to your favorite songs. You’ll be surprised how quickly your strumming starts to sound more polished.

📘 Get the free guitar practice guide here!

All the best,

JG Music Lessons