Valsa · Ukulele
Waltz ukulele rhythm: 3/4 strum
The waltz ukulele rhythm in 3/4: 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 Valsa pattern is a chord strum for the ukulele, in 3/4 straight (even subdivisions): the groove strums the chord (A) up and down. It sounds like this: A↓ — A↓ A↑ A↓ —.
How to count it
The meter is 3/4: 3 beats per bar, counted in eighth-notes (two per beat). Speak the count: 1 e, 2 e, 3 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. On the rests the arm keeps going: it stays in motion in the air and lands again on the next hit.
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 C
Hold a C and apply the whole pattern to it — every hit lands on the same chord. That’s how you take the groove into any song: change only the left hand, the right hand’s rhythm stays the same. Hear the example below.
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.
- 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
- Start all down. Strum the chord down (↓) on every stroke, one direction only.
- Bring in the up-stroke. Let the arm rise (↑) lightly between hits, grazing the thin strings.
- Close with the metronome. Go slow first and raise the BPM only once the pattern comes out clean.
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.
Practice in Chord and Fret →Variations & related patterns
Once the strum is steady, play the same pattern over Valsa 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.
See the genre’s progressions →