All the rhythm patterns you have played so far involved playing a downward strum (O), on the first, second, third and fourth beat. To make rhythm patterns more interesting, eighth note rhythm patterns can be used. An eighth note rhythm is a combination of a down and up strum within one beat. The down strum "on the beat" is played louder than the up strum which is "off the beat".
An up strum is indicated by a P, and is played on the "and" section of the count. To play an up strum start the strum at the first string (the thinnest string) and strum the first 3-4 strings only.
There are two eighth note strums per beat.
there are 8 eighth note strums in one bar of music in * time.
The down strum "on the beat" is played louder than the up strum which is "off the beat" (the ‘+’ section of the count).