5-Minute Beginner Guitar Strumming Workout

Hey, it’s James here from GoodGuitarist.com!
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by rhythm or strumming, you’re not alone. That’s why I created this 5-minute strumming workout—something you can do every day to build consistency, loosen your wrist, and develop real feel on the guitar.

Now you might be wondering: if it’s just a 5-minute workout, why is the video longer? That’s because I want to make sure you’re doing it properly. I explain the concepts and techniques that make a huge difference—especially when you’re just starting out.

Let’s dive in!

🎯 What This Strumming Workout Covers:

• How to count and establish tempo
• Controlling downstrokes with a relaxed wrist
• Mixing small and big strums
• Incorporating upstrokes
• Learning to miss strums for rhythmic feel
• Syncopation
• The most common strumming pattern of all time

Each step builds on the one before it. Here’s how it breaks down:

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🥁 Step-by-Step Strumming Progression

Step 1: Downstrokes Only
Start by counting steadily:
1, 2, 3, 4
Play a downstroke on each beat. This helps you lock into a consistent tempo. Practice at different speeds (slow and medium tempo). I highly recommend using a metronome for this!

Step 2: Downstrokes on the ‘Ands’
Play two downstrokes per count:
1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and
Keep the motion small and relaxed. Imagine your arm making a small football-shaped loop—down to the strings and then looping back.

Step 3: Alternate Small & Big Downstrokes
Start with:
1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and (small strokes)
Then:
1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and (big strokes)
This challenges your control and helps develop dynamic feel.

Step 4: Add Upstrokes
Now we follow the classic down-up motion:
Down, Down, Down-Up, Down-Up
Or counted:
1, 2, 3-and, 4-and
Keep your wrist loose. Think of flicking water off your pick or painting with a brush.

Step 5: Miss a Downstroke
We add our first intentional miss:
Down, miss, Down-Up, Down-Up
Still move your arm consistently—down on the beat, up on the “and”—even when you’re not hitting the strings.

Step 6: Syncopated Strumming
Emphasize the off-beat (the “and”) for a more rhythmic feel. Try this:
Miss, Up, Down-Up
Then combine it:
Down, Down, Miss, Up, Down-Up

Step 7: The Most Common Pattern
This pattern is used in so many songs:
Down on 1, Down-Up on 2, Miss-Up on 3, Down-Up on 4
Count it like this:
D Du -uDu

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⏱️ Your 5-Minute Strumming Routine

Grab a metronome, set a stopwatch, and follow this structure:

Time	Exercise	Description
30s	Step 1	Downstrokes at different tempos
45s	Step 2	d d d d d d d d
45s	Step 3	d d d d d d d d + D D D D D D D D
45s	Step 4	D D DuDu
45s	Step 5	D – DuDu
45s	Step 6	D D -uDu
45s	Step 7	D Du-uDu

Feel free to repeat the routine a couple times if you have the time and energy!

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💬 Final Thoughts

This workout is simple, but powerful. Practicing just 5 minutes a day will sharpen your rhythm, improve your timing, and make every song you play sound better.

If you want to go deeper and build a strong foundation, check out my premium membership, where you’ll get full access to all my step-by-step courses and more: 👉 Join My Premium Courses

Have a fun time practicing and I’ll see you soon!
– James