One of the most distinguishable rhythms is found in reggae music. Typically, in much of music, the downbeat is what is accented. In ska and reggae music, it’s the upbeat that is accented. Hence in this lesson’s exercise, we will rest on the downbeat and strum on the upbeat. Strumming it with an upstroke will help you from getting confused.
If we count it out (one and two and three and four and) we’ll discover that we’re strumming on the upbeat (the &) while resting on the downbeat, so maintain your down, up, down, up strumming motion to keep time, just don’t hit the strings on the downbeat.
