5 effective strumming patterns (plus a couple of bonus ones)

There are dozens of strumming patterns out there, but you need only know a few to play virtually any song:

All down:     D, d, d, d

Up-and-down (on-beat, 1&3):    Du, du, Du, du

Up-and-down (off-beat, 2&4):    du, Du, du, Du

Island / Calypso:    d, dU, -u, du

Swing or country:    d, Du, d, Du

Waltz (3/4):    d, D, D, d, D, D   (the D’s can also be U’s)

Waltz (6/8):    d, Du, du, d, Du, du

d = down-strum D = emphasized down-strum
u = up-strum U = emphasized up-strum