Reggae · Ukulele
Reggae ukulele rhythm: Jawaiian one-drop
The reggae ukulele rhythm in 4/4: the strum goes down (↓) and up (↑). Beat by beat, one mark per eighth note, with · where there is no stroke: ·· ↓↑ ·· ↓↑. 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 Reggae pattern is a chord strum for the ukulele, in 4/4 straight (even subdivisions): the chord (A) swings back and forth, down and up. It sounds like this: — — A↓ A↑ — — A↓ A↑.
How to count it
In 4/4, each bar has 4 beats, counted in eighth-notes (two per beat). Count out loud: 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 · — = no 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. Don’t stop the arm on the rests — it keeps moving in the air, it just doesn’t touch the strings.
Left hand
The left hand gives the harmony: hold the whole shape clean from start to finish, leaving the right hand to the rhythm. Make the change on the last beat, the hand already heading to the next chord.
Example in Am
With an Am 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
- 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.
- Rushing. Fast subdivisions are easy to run. Start slow with the metronome and only speed up once the pattern is clean.
- Freezing the arm on a rest. It should keep going in the air, off the strings, and land on the next hit — the continuous motion is what holds the time.
Guided practice
- Down-strokes only. Strum the chord on every down-stroke (↓), no up-stroke yet.
- Bring in the up-stroke. Let the arm rise (↑) lightly between hits, grazing the thin strings.
- Take it up on the metronome. Start slow, keep the pattern clean, and add a few BPM at a time.
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.
Practice in Chord and Fret →Variations & related patterns
With the strum steady, take it to Reggae progressions, putting rhythm and chord changes together. In Chord and Fret’s Progressions by Rhythm, the progressions come with diagrams and audio, free.
See the genre’s progressions →