The straight 8th note strum pattern has got to be one of the most common ones out there. Basic, but everyone uses it, and for a reason – it gets the job done. Okay, so how can we take that pattern and give it a shot of life and make it sound a lot more interesting? How can we make it serve the song better? How can we make it express something specific? The answer is found in HOW we strum, not necessarily changing the rhythm. In this lesson we’ll explore a couple ways to do that.