Folk · Ukulele
Folk ukulele rhythm: Formby split stroke
The folk ukulele rhythm in 4/4: 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
For the ukulele, Folk uses a chord strum, in 4/4 straight (even subdivisions): the groove strums the chord (A) up and down. It sounds like this: A↓ A↑ A↓ A↓ A↑ A↓ A↓ A↑.
How to count it
The meter is 4/4: 4 beats per bar, counted in eighth-notes (two per beat). Speak the count: 1 e, 2 e, 3 e, 4 e. 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
The chord (A) swings: down (↓) with weight, up (↑) light, catching only the treble strings. Keep the arm loose, oscillating without stopping.
Left hand
The fretting hand holds the chord firmly through the whole pattern — it owns the harmony while the right hand owns the rhythm. Change chords at the last instant of the bar, the hand already moving toward the next shape.
Example in C
With a C held, let the same chord ring under every stroke — close your eyes and follow just the right hand’s rhythm. Then change only the left-hand shape to take it into any song.
Common mistakes
- Up-strokes as hard as down-strokes. The up-stroke (↑) is lighter and catches only the treble strings — equal force thickens and drags it.
- Rushing. Fast subdivisions are easy to run. Start slow with the metronome and only speed up once the pattern is clean.
- 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
- Down-strokes only. Strum the chord on every down-stroke (↓), no up-stroke yet.
- Add the up-stroke. Let the arm come back (↑) between hits — lighter, catching the treble strings.
- Close with the metronome. Go slow first and raise the BPM only once the pattern comes out clean.
You already get the logic of the groove. Now put it in time: hear the pattern, follow the count and practice slowly until every stroke lands in its place without rushing. In Chord and Fret, the Metronome and the Rhythm Trainer help with that drill, free.
Train with the metronome →Variations & related patterns
With the strum steady, take it to Folk progressions, putting rhythm and chord changes together. In Chord and Fret’s Progressions by Rhythm, the progressions come with diagrams and audio, free.
Apply to progressions →