# 8Strummer

> Rhythm guitar practice and songwriting tool with chord shapes and patterns. (iPhone/iPad app by Drew Milloy.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/8strummer/id441799069 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Drew Milloy](https://appshunter.io/developer/328220392)
- Category: Music, Education
- Price: Free
- Rating: 3.60/5 from 11 App Store ratings · 18 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 7.0 · 38 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2011-06-08
- Data updated: 2026-08-19
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/8strummer/id441799069/reviews.md

## What is 8Strummer?

A RHYTHM GUITAR PRIMER:

Keep that pick hand moving in time, until it becomes second nature.

A VITAL RESOURCE FOR PRACTISING AND IMPROVING RHYTHM GUITAR SKILLS:

Practise strumming complex rhythm patterns and get your timing perfect!

A USEFUL SONGWRITING TOOL:

Find the perfect groove for your next song!

-----

Strumming in 8ths is:

* 4 down-strums on the numbered beats
* 4 up-strums on the 'ands':
  
  1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & = down, up, down, up, down, up, down, up.

Strumming in 16ths is:

* 8 down-strums on the numbered beats and the 'ands'
* 8 up-strums on the in-betweens:

   1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a = down, up, down, up, etc...

IMPORTANT: Always keep your strumming hand moving up and down evenly - including rest strokes.

• Practice with a click and one of 27 chord shapes.
• Save your favourite patterns
• Shake to randomise the pattern
• Different notation types
• Muted and ringing chords

Designed and produced in collaboration with guitarist and tutor Simon Nelson

## Key features

- Rhythm pattern practice
- 27 chord shapes
- Metronome accompaniment
- Save favorite patterns
- Randomize pattern
- Muted and ringing chords

## Recent user reviews (10 of 18)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/8strummer/id441799069/reviews.md

### 3/5 — Great for 4-4 timing

*2024-11-18, version 2.0.1*

It’s good for 4/4 timing for quarter, eights and sixteenth notes but nothing else. Doesn’t do 3/4 or 6/8 timing, triplets etc. another upgrade needed is the when the phone locks, the app stops playing the sounds. 

The app has a lot of potential, but beefs a few upgrades.

### 5/5 — 8Strummer is a Great Tool

*2024-09-26*

I installed this app to help train me to memorize strum patterns better. You can select any down/up pattern (even with muted rests), tempo, chord and click sounds. Then simply play along with it as a trainer to master strumming. You can save it as a Favorite after making changes. This app is really helpful to me.

### 1/5 — Great idea only partially implemented

*2021-09-03*

This was the app that was perfect to develop multiple strumming patterns. Unfortunately, there are basic design flaws that make it barely useable. The main problem is that you cant slow down the strumming pattern. How can someone learn at fast tempos? Every music teacher out there says start slow, master the song, THEN speed up. This app is merely an abandoned good idea.

### 2/5 — Title

*2020-07-13*

Seems like it would make more sense to have the each arrow light up than each section of 1e&a.  But it’s free

### 5/5 — Helpful

*2020-07-04*

This app is very helpful for people who cannot just visualize a rhythm. Only feed back is maybe to add an option where you can change the direction of the arrows.

### 3/5 — My mini-Update: Good start. COULD Address a need.

*2020-04-03*

This is pretty straight forward. I’m waiting to see where the vision goes. A good idea, underdeveloped.

Its been creeping forward & while I had one brief moment when I could edit & SAVE a rhythm—it went away in a subsequent mini-update.

Stating the obvious: Rhythm is essential to getting the music right & playing with anyone else. A failure to get this skill down early will haunt you forever, hinder your development at least until you master it. 

As a tool to remedy such is well within this app’s future if handled well, translating written music to something a student can hear, isolating strum rhythms from the rest of the music.

Sorry, I can’t wait forever.

Going Forward: 
  * OK. Keep the locked, canned rhythms.
  * Saving as a newly-named rhythm? —> I can’t.
  * Change the beat rate? —> I can’t.
  * Accent Marks? —> Not yet.
  * Scratch Rhythms? —> would be handy.
  * minor: Splitting a bar into 2 chords?  
 
Working to std rhythm slashes would be useful. Could include more & varying bars. A way to layer the rhythm into Garageband would be nice.

Monster: If one could play& record a strum or riff. Then see it notated in time, adjusting anything out of time which needs to be ON the beat? 

Or I could just go to Garageband,
instead of waiting for this to evolve.

### 4/5 — Arrow orientation.

*2020-02-09*

I’m a beginner guitarist and I’m using this app along with Tabs to learn songs. The problem is the arrows a lot of the time only go up on one dot.  Or only go down on another. Is it something I’m doing wrong or is that a fixable thing in the app?

### 5/5 — Love it!

*2019-04-19*

Kudos to the developer! This has been a really helpful app to me working on my rhythmic guitar skills! I recommend it all the time.

### 5/5 — Great strum pattern trainer

*2017-09-16*

The UI is clean once you figure it out.   It is great to work on patterns that are hard to get the hang of.

### 4/5 — useful

*2015-11-03*

great to learn strum patterns and new chords - free, clean layout and lots of options

## Frequently asked questions about 8Strummer

### What is 8Strummer used for?

8Strummer is a rhythm guitar primer designed to help users practice and improve their strumming skills. It offers tools for perfecting timing with complex rhythm patterns and can be used as a songwriting aid.

### How does 8Strummer help with strumming?

It provides practice with a click and 27 chord shapes, allowing users to work on strumming in 8ths and 16ths. The app emphasizes keeping the strumming hand moving evenly, including rest strokes.

### Can I save my progress in 8Strummer?

Yes, you can save your favorite strumming patterns within the app. This feature allows you to easily recall and practice specific rhythms you've found useful or created.

### Does 8Strummer offer different ways to practice?

8Strummer includes features like shaking the device to randomize patterns and supports different notation types. It also allows for practice with both muted and ringing chords.

### What devices does 8Strummer support?

8Strummer is designed for iPhone and iPod devices. It has an age rating of 4+.

### How often is 8Strummer updated?

The latest version of 8Strummer is 2.0.1, which was released on September 25, 2015. The app was originally released on June 8, 2011.

### What is the user rating for 8Strummer?

8Strummer has a rating of 3.6 stars based on 11 user ratings. This indicates a generally positive but mixed reception from its user base.

### Does 8Strummer have ads?

No, 8Strummer does not contain advertisements. It is a completely free application without any ad interruptions.

## Version history (last 3 releases)

### 2.0.1 — 2015-09-25

This app has been updated by Apple to display the Apple Watch app icon.

Fixes a crash on iOS 9. This was due to changes to the behaviour when AAC audio files were decoded. As a quick fix I have switched to uncompressed mono audio files. 
Hopefully stereo samples will be back in the next version!

### 2.0 — 2014-12-19

* Completely redesigned user interface
* 16-beat patterns and 2-bar 8-beat patterns as well as the original 8-beat patterns
* muted rhythms
* you can name your Favourites
* more notation options
* support for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus screens
* new sound samples and lots more chords!

### 1.0 — 2011-06-07

No release notes.

## Apps similar to 8Strummer

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Guitar 3D - Virtual Guitarist](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/guitar-3d-virtual-guitarist/id956172892) | 4.8 (114) | Free | Music |
| [Learn and Play – Guitar Licks](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/learn-and-play-guitar-licks/id1481940180) | 3.8 (33) | Free | Music |
| [Chord Atlas \| Guitar](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chord-atlas-guitar/id1059621385) | 4.7 (352) | Free | Music |
| [Scale Finder: Guitar Theory](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/scale-finder-guitar-theory/id1661980209) | — | Free | Music |
| [Fretref: Guitar Handbook](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/fretref-guitar-handbook/id6742094111) | — | Free | Music |
| [Strum Songbook - Guitar chords](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/strum-songbook-guitar-chords/id1636515514) | 1.0 (1) | Free | Music |

## More apps by Drew Milloy

- [the Clave](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-clave/id328220389)
- [AutoArp](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/autoarp/id413244255)
- [Oddleberry](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/oddleberry/id827686517)
- [Hyperchrome](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hyperchrome/id946764775)
- [Fall](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/fall/id1046467659)

All apps by Drew Milloy: https://appshunter.io/developer/328220392

## Related topics

[strummer](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/strummer) · [strumming](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/strumming)

---

*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-19.*