I would appreciate some help in understanding the strumming pattern used in the song Dock of the Bay ( https://www.guitartricks.com/lesson.php?input=19777&s_id=1543 ).

In the verses, and elsewhere, there are parenthesis around each of the notes for certain strums as does the fingering in the tabulature. If counting, it appears as 1 2 (&) (e) 3 & 4 &. When I watch and listen to the video, I can see and hear that the instructor is doing something but I can't figure out exactly what he is doing. I have tried playing the video at its slowest speed and still can't figure it out. Unfortuantely, the instructor did not explain this in the lesson on the acoustic verse.

Please advise.

Jim