http://playground.arduino.cc/Main/ReadingRPM
Nearly all the pieces you need can be found in the playground of this site, but you will have to put the pieces together. The link I gave you will allow you to get an RPM reading from a hall-effect sensor. That is one piece. Turning on the LED lines is no more difficult than wiring each line up to a digital pin and using digitalWrite to control that pin. Though with the amount of current a line will take, you will probably need to use a transistor.
Look at blinking code in the playground to learn how to blink LEDs for the flashing.
You could also look at using PWM to change the brightness of the strands for more effect.
"I am under time constraints so cannot spend too much time learning all of Arduinos functions."
That kind of reads like, "Hey, someone write the code for me..." Which is probably why you are not getting any responses. I am always willing to help those willing to learn, but personally... if you want me to write code for you, I expect to be paid. I'm sure most would agree.