8th all down strumming embellishment’s

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Here is the 8th strumming we covered at Level 1. Songs around this level that you can try out these 8th strumming variations include;

Knockin' On Heavens Door, Sweet Home Alabama, Can't Always Get What You Want, Wanted Dead Or Alive from Level 5; Love The Way You Lie, Yellow and Get Lucky from Level 6; plus Stand By Me, Hey Jude and Hotel California from Level 7, so LOTS!

8th all down strumming- Standard

Strumming-Power-8ths 1 Basic

At this level, it can sound a little relentless and flat. To spice it up, the first thing we can do is play beats 2 and 4 louder, known as adding an 'accent'. We do this on beats 2 and 4 as this is where the snare drum will play, which is the loudest part of a regular drumbeat. The accent is shown by the > symbol.

8th all down strumming - with accent

Strumming-Power-8ths

If you're up for a challenge, you can then play the thicker strings only on counts '1 +' and '3 +'. This will further accent 2 and 4 as the others are now quieter.

You can also try adding a little up strum as shown. This technically makes it a 16th strumming pattern which is hard! But I've found some people can do it at this level, so give it a go!

8th all down strumming- with added 'up'

Strumming-Power-8ths-3-Adva