Hawaiian · Ukulele
Hawaiian ukulele rhythm: chalangalang
The Hawaiian ukulele rhythm in 4/4 with swing: the strum goes down (↓) and up (↑). Beat by beat, one mark per eighth note: ↓↑ ↓↑ ↓↑ ↓↑. Play the audio here in your browser, set the tempo anywhere from 50 to 200 BPM and follow the grid, which marks every subdivision.
Sound summary
The Hawaiian pattern is a chord strum for the ukulele, in 4/4 with swing (a shuffled, long-short feel): the hand strums the chord (A) down and up. To the ear: A↓ A↑ A↓ A↑ A↓ A↑ A↓ A↑.
How to count it
There are 4 beats per bar (4/4), split into eighth-notes (two per beat). Speak the count: 1 e, 2 e, 3 e, 4 e — let each pair drag (long-short), never even. Foot on the beat, follow the grid above — each cell is one subdivision.
The rhythm grid
A = chord · ↓ down-stroke · ↑ up-stroke
The ↓/↑ direction follows the bowed-string arcada convention (ᴨ down, V up; Ribeiro 2017).
How to play it
Right hand
Alternate down (↓) and up (↑) on the chord (A). The down-stroke is firm; the up-stroke just grazes the thin strings — that contrast gives the bounce.
Left hand
Keep the chord well pressed through the whole pattern — the left hand rules pitch, the right rules the bar. Only release the shape at the end of the bar, moving the hand ahead to the next one.
Example in C
Grab a C and play the full strum over it: each stroke is the same chord. To carry it into any song, change only the shape in the left hand — the right hand’s rhythm doesn’t change. Listen below.
Common mistakes
- Straightening the swing. The pair of notes is long-short; play it even and the swing dies, leaving a mechanical strum.
- Weighing down the up-stroke. The up (↑) should just graze the thin strings; matching the down-stroke’s force thickens it and drags the time.
- Running the subdivisions. The faster the pattern, the easier to push ahead — lock the tempo on the metronome before speeding up.
- Letting the tempo drift. Without a firm pulse the strum leaks — count along and hold the same time from the first bar to the last.
Guided practice
- Start all down. Strum the chord down (↓) on every stroke, one direction only.
- Add the up-stroke. Let the arm come back (↑) between hits — lighter, catching the treble strings.
- Take it up on the metronome. Start slow, keep the pattern clean, and add a few BPM at a time.
You’ve got the theory; now the time has to enter the body. Play along with the audio, follow the count and raise the tempo bit by bit until every stroke lands in its place without rushing. The Chord and Fret Metronome is free and keeps that drill steady.
Train with the metronome →Variations & related patterns
Once the strum is steady, play the same pattern over Hawaiian progressions: rhythm and chord changes in one exercise. In Chord and Fret, Progressions by Rhythm plays progressions from many styles, with diagrams and audio, free.
Apply to progressions →