Plain strumming sounds fine. Strumming with targeted bass notes sounds like you’ve been playing for years. It’s one of those upgrades to your strumming patterns that makes the biggest difference with the least effort. The difference is surprisingly small — you just pick one string before you strum the rest — but the effect on your sound is massive.

Colin shows how to add bass notes to your strumming in this lesson.

The Basic Concept

Instead of strumming all the strings at once on beat one, you pick just the bass note of your chord — the root note on the lowest string. Then on beats two, three, and four, you strum the upper strings normally.

For a G chord, that bass note is the 6th string (3rd fret). For a C chord, it’s the 5th string (3rd fret). For a D chord, it’s the 4th string (open). The bass note is usually the root of whatever chord you’re playing.

This creates a “boom-chick” sound: bass note, strum, bass note, strum. It’s the foundation of country guitar, but it works in folk, pop, and acoustic rock too.

Alternating Bass Notes

Once you can pick the root bass note cleanly, try alternating between two bass notes per chord. For G, alternate between the 6th string (G) and the 4th string (D). For C, alternate between the 5th string (C) and the 4th string (E).

This alternating bass creates movement in the low end that makes your guitar sound fuller — almost like a bass player and rhythm guitarist playing at the same time.

Common Bass Note Patterns by Chord

G chord: 6th string 3rd fret (G) → 4th string open (D)

C chord: 5th string 3rd fret (C) → 4th string 2nd fret (E) or 6th string 3rd fret (G)

D chord: 4th string open (D) → 5th string open (A)

Am chord: 5th string open (A) → 4th string 2nd fret (E)

Em chord: 6th string open (E) → 5th string 2nd fret (B)

You don’t need to memorize all of these at once. Start with G and C, which are the easiest to hear and the most forgiving if you hit a slightly wrong string.

Walking Bass Lines

The next step up: use bass notes to walk between chords. When changing from G to C, instead of just jumping, walk the bass down: G (6th string 3rd fret) → F# (6th string 2nd fret) → then land on the C chord. These connecting notes smooth out chord transitions and sound professional.

Practice Tips

Accuracy first. The hardest part is hitting the right bass string without looking. Practice picking individual bass strings slowly until your hand finds them automatically.

Separate the hands. Practice the bass note picking pattern on its own, without any strumming. Then add simple strums between the bass notes once your picking hand is consistent.

Start with one chord. Don’t try to walk between chords until you can cleanly alternate bass notes on a single chord shape. G is the best starting chord for this.

Keep Learning

This technique combines well with the most popular strumming pattern — try replacing the first downstroke with a bass note pick. For more pattern ideas, browse our beginner strumming patterns.

For a complete collection of strumming techniques, check out our strumming patterns guide.