3/4 strumming pattern: the waltz strum
Three beats to the bar instead of four: a strong down on 1, then down-up on 2 and 3, through D, G and A7. Waltzes, folk ballads and many country songs count in three, and a strum that feels natural in 4/4 falls over in 3/4 until the hand learns where the bar now starts. Leaning on the first beat of each bar is what makes it sound like a waltz.
Opens in the player looped and counted in, with drums playing along, and speeds up 5 % every 2 loops to 110 bpm. No account or microphone needed.
- Goal tempo
- 110 bpm
- Starts at
- 66 bpm
- Length
- 4 bars, looped
- Tuning
- E standard
- Time
- 3/4
- Level
- Beginner
- Plays with
- Drums
How to play it
Count 1, 2 and 3 and; accent the 1 a little so the bar's start is heard.
Count '1, 2 and 3 and'. The first beat is a single strong downstroke held through its 'and'; beats 2 and 3 are down-up. A bar has three beats instead of four, so each new chord arrives a beat sooner than in most songs.
Accent every 1, a little firmer than the rest, so the start of the bar is heard: that strong-weak-weak is what makes three beats sound like a waltz. The drums play it too, the kick on 1 and the side stick on 2 and 3.
The chords are D, G, D and A7, which pulls back to D. Start D's downstrokes from the open D string and G's from the low E.
Mistakes to watch for
- Adding a fourth beat out of habit, so the change comes late.
- Accenting 2 or 3 instead of 1, which makes the bar seem to start in the wrong place.
- A pause after the held downstroke on 1: the down on 2 comes right on time.
A speed plan
The player starts at 60 % of the goal and plays each tempo twice before stepping up:
- 66
- 72
- 77
- 83
- 88
- 94
- 99
- 105
- 110
That's 16 loops and about 2 minutes before you're playing at 110 bpm. If it stops being clean on the way, stop the ramp there and loop that tempo until it is. With a microphone or an audio interface you can record while you play instead: Demiurg checks every loop and steps up only after two clean ones in a row, and back down after a poor one. Strums are checked for when they land, not for which strings rang.
Questions
How fast should I play 3/4 waltz strum?
The goal is 110 bpm in eighth notes, which is 3.7 strums a second. Start wherever every strum is clean: the player begins at 66 bpm. Signed in, you can set a goal of your own, slower or faster, on the Exercises page.
What songs are in 3/4?
Waltzes, many folk songs and ballads, country standards, hymns and carols. If a song's beat counts naturally as 'one two three, one two three', it's in 3/4.
What's the difference between 3/4 and 6/8?
3/4 has three beats a bar, each split in two; 6/8 has two beats a bar, each split in three. Both hold six eighths, accented differently. The 6/8 ballad strum is the exercise for the other one.
More acoustic exercises
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