Downstrokes and Upstrokes on the Guitar — When do you use which?

The question of when to use a downstroke and when to play an upstroke remains a great mystery of many guitarists.
But actually, the whole thing can be calculated very easily.

Of course, there are occasionally exceptions where the exact opposite would be allowed. But it wouldn’t be wrong to stick to the following rules.
I therefore recommend that everyone study the basics well. After that, exceptions can be quickly found and adjusted if necessary.

Quarter Notes

The downstroke (inverted U symbol) is always used on even beats. On so-called downbeats.
So, with a metronome, that’s the 1, 2, 3, 4.

Eighth Notes

With eighth notes, every off-beat is played as an upstroke (V symbol).

Sixteenth Notes

Now it gets interesting. With sixteenth notes, the off-beats, i.e. the “+”, become a downstroke. For this, all odd sixteenth notes (e) become an upstroke.

Calculate it Yourself

Sometimes you see rhythms and just think “how should I ever be able to decipher that?”.
But there is a simple checklist for this:

Find the Lowest Common Denominator

Is the shortest note in the entire rhythm an eighth note, or a sixteenth note? Dotted notes should also be considered here!

Shorten All Notes to the Same Length

Assuming the lowest common denominator is a 16th note, then all notes would have to be made into 16th notes and tied together with slurs.

Write Down Upstrokes and Downstrokes for All Notes

Even if the notes tied together with slurs are not played, the downstrokes and upstrokes should be written down to avoid mistakes.

Example

For this occasion, I have selected a very tedious rhythm that makes most guitarists’ hair stand on end! 🙂

The lowest common denominator here is the 16th note. There is no note that is shorter.
All 8th notes are therefore made into two 16th notes each and tied together.

After that, I only have to write down alternating upstrokes and downstrokes (starting with a downstroke!) and play only the first of the tied notes (the second note is generally only sustained and not played again).

The images, the PDF and the Guitar Pro can be downloaded here.