8/13/2019 While Blues Music Encompasses Many Forms and Feels
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WHILE BLUES MUSIC ENCOMPASSESmany forms and feels, nothing
brings it home quite like the mighty shuffle rhythm. Rooted in the
6/8pulse of West African music, this broken triplet rhythm is the
cornerstone of traditional blues, but its also prealent in rock,
pop, hip!hop, country,
and "a##, among other styles. $o really nail the shuffle feel,
you must first understand that you are dealing %ith triplets. $o
get into the grooe, start
%ith clapping your hands at a steady medium tempo %hile counting
out loud& 'one-two-three, one-two-three,( making sure that one
is on the clap,
and that two and three are all eenly spaced bet%een the
claps.
)nce you feel comfortable counting the triplet rhythm, play it
on your bass, as sho%n in Ex. 1. Work this rhythm slo%ly at first,
and make sure thenotes are eenly spaced*a %ell!played triplet has a
round, flo%ing feel to it. When youre ready for a reality check,
play the triplet rhythm %ith a
metronome to see ho% steady, and rela+ed, you can be.
$o turn this into a shuffle rhythm, simply leae out the second
beat of the triplet. $he key to a killer shuffle lies in the space
bet%een the first and
third beats of the triplet. Any eteran blues, "a##, or R- player
%ill tell you*some shuffles are %ider than others. When the bass
player starts
shufflin %ith the drummer, theyd better be locked in. )ne proen
method for internali#ing rhythm is singing, so lets gie the shuffle
pattern some
'lyrics.( $he %ord 'utch( has t%o sounds& 'duh( and 'tch.(
$hey %ill be the first t%o beats of the triplet. or the third beat,
use the sound 'da.( 0ut
it all together and you get 'utch, a utch, a utch,( 1Ex. 22. $he
'ch( fills the space of the missing second beat of the triplet and
gies therhythm structural integrity. irst, sing the shuffle %hile
clapping quarter!notes. When you feel comfortable %ith that, use a
metronome for the
quarter!note pulse. Although you %ont necessarily %ant to do
this %hile performing, see if you can play the shuffle rhythm on
the bass and sing the
rhythm at the same time*%ith the final step of adding the
metronome. or e+tra fun, place the metronome clicks on beats two
andfour. 3t %ill takepractice, but %hen you get it, your shuffle
%ill be unstoppable.
$%o common interpretations of the shuffle rhythm on bass 1a.k.a.
the 'double stroke(2 are staccato or legato. $he shorter ersion
leaes a gap on the
second beat of the triplet 14+. 52, %hile the first beat
sustains through the second beat as in Ex. 3. $he staccato shuffle
fits %ell %hen the drummer
uses a tightly closed hi!hat. When the drummer s%itches to the
ride cymbal, a legato shuffle in the bass supports the grooe
nicely. Example 4is a
boogie!line ariation played %ith a staccato shuffle feel. se
this pattern oer the entire 75!bar form, and then play the legato
articulation of the line
as sho%n in Ex. 5. e+t time you play %ith a band, pay attention
to %here the drummer places the rhythm. $ry the suggested short and
long
articulations*3 think youll be ama#ed at ho% much it adds to the
grooe.
$he shuffle a huge part of blues music. -ut remember& 3t is
not al%ays necessary for the bass player to shuffle. 9ometimes a
good, solid quarter!note%ill ground the feel better. As the song
tempo approaches the 7:; -0< mark, the double!stroke starts to
sound rushed, and oer 7=; -0< its "ust
stupid. 0ractice these rhythms clapping your hands and singing,
on the bass, and %ith the metronome. $hat %ay, %hen you hook up
%ith a great
shuffle drummer, youll keep that train a!rollin*all night
long.
