Shuffle and swing feel

Much blues, rock and roll and jazz is not played in straight eighths. It is played with a swing or shuffle feel: each beat is split into three, and you play on the first and third parts, giving a long-short, lilting rhythm. This lesson trains that feel and puts it into the classic shuffle pattern over a 12-bar blues.

By the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• Count and feel triplets and the long-short swing rhythm.
• Play the root-fifth to root-sixth shuffle pattern on the A, D and E strings.
• Play a 12-bar blues in A with a shuffle feel.

Straight eighths divide each beat into two equal halves. Swing divides each beat into three (a triplet: "1-trip-let") and plays on the first and third parts. The first note is twice as long as the second, which gives the long-short, rolling feel of blues and early rock and roll.

On paper, swing is often written as ordinary eighths with an instruction such as "swing" or "shuffle". You hear the difference, and you feel it in the body; reading alone will not give it to you.

The shuffle pattern is the classic blues accompaniment in this feel:

• Play the root on an open string with the fifth on the next string up: a two-note power chord.
• Play it twice, then stretch the ring finger two frets higher (the sixth) and play that twice.
• Repeat. The index finger stays down on the fifth the whole time.

The same pattern on the A, D and E strings gives the I, IV and V chords in A, which is a complete 12-bar blues.

Feel the triplet.

1. Set the metronome to 70 BPM. Say "1-trip-let, 2-trip-let" evenly.
2. Clap on "1" and "let" only. That gap in the middle is the swing.
3. Keep clapping and stop saying the words. Can you still feel the three?

The pattern. Put the index finger on the D string at fret 2. Pick the open A and that note together, twice (on "1" and "let"). Reach the ring finger to fret 4 on the D string and pick twice more. Loop it, palm-muting lightly.

Through the form. For D, move everything up one string: open D with frets 2 and 4 on the G string. For E, move down: open low E with frets 2 and 4 on the A string. Then play the 12 bars: A A A A, D D A A, E D A E.

Do these in order. Each one is small. Tick the ones you have practised.

• 1.Count the triplets

  3 min · 70 → 90 BPM

  1. With the metronome on, say "1-trip-let, 2-trip-let": three equal syllables per click.
  2. Clap only on the number and the "let": the swing rhythm.
  3. Mute the strings with the fretting hand and strum down on the number, up on the "let".

  You have it when

  • The clap and strum feel long-short, not even.
  I practised this one

• 2.The A shuffle

  5 min · 70 → 100 BPM

  1. Play the open A string with fret 2 on the D string: A5.
  2. Play it twice (on "1" and "let"), then reach the ring finger to fret 4 on the D string and play that twice.
  3. Keep the index finger down on fret 2 throughout, and loop the pattern.
  4. Palm-mute lightly for a tighter sound.

  You have it when

  • The pattern loops with a steady long-short feel for one minute.
  I practised this one

• 3.Shuffle through the 12-bar

  5 min · 70 → 100 BPM

  1. Move the pattern to the D string (open D with fret 2 and 4 on the G string) for the D bars.
  2. Move it to the low E string (open E with fret 2 and 4 on the A string) for the E bars.
  3. Play the 12-bar form: A ×4, D ×2, A ×2, E, D, A, E.
  4. Count bars out loud on the first time through.

  You have it when

  • You play the whole form with the shuffle feel and no stops.
  I practised this one

Swing gets hard to feel when it is slow. Start around 70 BPM, which is slow enough to count and fast enough to groove, and aim for 100 BPM.

• Playing it straight (even eighths) without noticing. Say "1-trip-let" out loud while you play. The upstroke falls on "let", late in the beat.
• Lifting the index finger when the ring finger reaches. The index anchors fret 2. Only the ring finger moves between frets 2 and 4.
• Losing the form. Count the bars aloud or tap a foot on beat 1 of each bar.

The shuffle is the default rhythm of the blues and of early rock and roll. Play the 12-bar blues in A from the song library with this pattern, then try the pentatonic phrases from the lead lessons over a recording of yourself.

Try it in: 12-bar blues in A.

Short version (10 minutes)

Count triplets with the metronome, then loop the A shuffle for two minutes.

Standard version (about 30 minutes)

Do all three exercises, then record the 12-bar shuffle at 90 BPM and listen back for the long-short feel.

• Swing: each beat split into three, played on the first and third parts.
• Shuffle: root-fifth, root-sixth, two of each, with the index finger anchored.
• Same pattern on the A, D and E strings covers a whole blues in A.
• Count "1-trip-let" until the feel is automatic.

You are ready to move on when you can honestly say:

• I can clap and strum a swing rhythm against a metronome.
• I can play the shuffle pattern on the A, D and E strings.
• I can play a 12-bar blues in A with a shuffle feel without stopping.