WHILE BLUES MUSIC ENCOMPASSES many forms and feels, nothing brings it home quite like the mighty

shuffle rhythm. Rooted in the 6/8 pulse of West African music, this broken triplet rhythm is the cornerstone of traditional blues, but its also pre alent 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 groo e, 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 e enly 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 the notes are e enly 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 lea e 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 pro en method for internali#ing rhythm is singing, so lets gi e 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 gi es the rhythm 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 and four. 3t %ill take practice, 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 lea es 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 groo e nicely. Example 4 is a boogie!line ariation played %ith a staccato shuffle feel. 6se this pattern o er the entire 75!bar form, and then play the legato articulation of the line as sho%n in Ex. 5. 8e+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 groo e. $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 o er 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.