What does a beginner REALLY need to know about time signatures?

If you’re a beginner guitarist, you’re learning to strum chords for songs.

At first, you don’t think about time signatures at all.

But then you realize your strum pattern sounds wrong for a particular song.

You try to figure out why.

Someone tells you it’s because that song is in a different time signature.

But when you start trying to understand time signatures, it gets complicated.

Time signatures look like fractions.

Maybe 2/4 and 3/4 and 4/4 don’t seem intimidating.

But what about 6/8 and 9/8 and 12/8?

I’m going to help!

To keep things simple, focus only on how your picking hand strums for each time signature.

Let’s define the strumming based on the top number of the time signature.

If the top number is 2, strum 2 groups of DU (Down, Up).

In other words, for 2/4, strum DUDU.

If the top number is 3, strum 3 groups of DU.

For 3/4, strum DUDUDU.

If the top number is 4, strum 4 groups of DU.

For 4/4, strum DUDUDUDU.

Are you with me so far?

Now you might say that strumming groups of DU is boring.

That’s true, but it’s also a great place to start.

When you get comfortable with the DU strums and you want to make things more interesting, try missing the strings intentionally on some down or up strums.

So in 4/4, you might play D DU UDU, but you still keep the hand moving DUDUDUDU. You just miss the strings on one of the up strums and one of the down strums to vary the sound.

You might ask, but what about other time signatures like 6/8 and 9/8 and 12/8?

For these, divide the top number into groups of 3, which will be strummed DUU.

So if the top number of the time signature is 6, you will strum 2 groups of DUU.

In other words, for 6/8, strum DUUDUU.

If the top number is 9, strum 3 groups of DUU.

For 9/8, strum DUUDUUDUU.

If the top number is 12, strum 4 groups of DUU.

For 12/8, strum DUUDUUDUUDUU.

Once you get comfortable with these patterns, you can miss the strings on a down or up strum to make things more interesting.

Is there more to be learned about time signatures?

Sure!

But what I’ve shared in this article is what you really need as a beginner.

Don’t worry about anything beyond this until you master these strumming patterns.

Let me know if you have questions.

Keep making music!