The following rhythm pattern shows a quarter note strum on each beat of a bar of * time.
After playing the first strum your right hand moves upwards in preparation for the second strum. The strings are not played on this upward movement. This upward motion can be represented by a broken upward strum symbol p which indicates that the strings are not strummed (a silent strum).
So the basic rhythm could be written as
The two previous rhythm patterns sound exactly the same. If you watch your right hand you will notice that it actually moves up and down in a continuous motion but it only makes contact with the strings on the down strum. Also if you play some eighth note rhythms, (see Lesson Five) you will see that your right hand also moves up and down in a continuous motion sometimes making contact with the string and sometimes not.