These two videos show how I use my strumming hand to dampen the strings. This is one of the most important features of my style; this technique adds greatly to the rhythmic patterns that I use. These two videos show how I use my strumming hand to dampen the strings. This is one of the most important features of my style; this technique adds greatly to the rhythmic patterns that I use. Here is a pattern that accents all the +'s. The strong beats in 4/4 time are the 1 and 3 but occasionally players will accent beats 2 and 4 in a "Boom-chick" style. Accenting the +'s is taking the rhythmic possibilities one stage further. Here is a simple reel rhythm. It is important to notice the effect of the balance between the quarter and eighth notes. The amount of eighth notes should be a conscious choice; try building up the amount of eighth notes from this pattern to notice the effect. I am accenting the + of 4 to give the pattern an extra impetus.