Understanding The Shuffle Rhythm ...

An essential part of learning blues guitar!

So far, all the rhythmic things we've been talking about have been even eighth notes. We've divided a beat. It's been cut exactly in half. We're keeping the distance between the beats exactly halfway. But - now that you're venturing into the blues - it's time to switch that up!

In this lesson, you'll learn the mathematical way to understand shuffle grooves. You'll also explore how you can vary it to make it feel good with your playing!

Grab your guitar & let's get stuck in. :)

What Is The Shuffle Rhythm?

A 'shuffle' is a feel.

If you're following my Beginner Guitar Course, this feeling will be different from the standard timing you've previously learned. With shuffle rhythm, the 'ands' are moved a little later while the beats remain in place. This timing gives your guitar sound that groovy feel!

The most common approach is to explain it as a triplet. First, you'll need to divide a beat into three sections instead of two. That single beat is now divided into three, with the middle note missing.

At first - this might feel a little jerky! A bluesy shuffle is more than this triplet explanation. The shuffle grooves is a feeling that is flexible - and that you can easily move around!

💡 Wondering what's the best way to learn the shuffle rhythm? I recommend you start with this triplet idea. Then, you want to learn the type of blues shuffle from a Blues master you have the most connection with. Learning the blues really starts with listening to it!

The Shuffle Zone

If you want to hear pure blues musical genius - check out Jacob Collier explaining his love for 57% Swing. His knowledge of music is so far beyond mine! I set the time to the bit about swing percentages - but I recommend watching the whole interview!

Collier has this awesome way of thinking of shuffle rhythm in percentages. This shuffle zone is a way to visualize how to get a bluesy sound to your guitar playing. Check it out below!

7 Tips Play Shuffle Rhythm

Here are 7 tips to remember when you're learning shuffle rhythm & strumming on the guitar.

Listening to the blues is the best way to get it! Here's a must-hear Blues Spotify playlist!
The shuffle zone idea is not just for chords and strumming, but notes and riffs too!
With shuffle strumming - make sure you're strumming gently! On your electric guitar, turn down your volume if you need to!
You can use two down strums or down-and-up to get that groovy sound.
You will probably find that down/up strumming feels best for many simple shuffle strumming. Explore this idea and have fun!
Accent beats 2 and 4 if you can. Work on it with muted strings to focus on the groove!
Make it feel good. The key thing here is finding the feel - keep playing until it feels good!

There is a physical part of this - the practice. For Nitsuj - he felt this was tricky! So - be patient with yourself, and keep practicing until it feels right! :)

Notation

If you read rhythmic notation, you might find this helpful!

I hope you enjoy this lesson & it inspires you to go and listen to some great blues music! That shuffle feels it's going to be an essential part of playing blues guitar later on. :) Next lesson - we're checking out the 12 bars blues progression!