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Play the classic and versatile blues shuffle rhythm as a two-note chord riff, a groove-filled bass line, or a horn-like accent. With audio examples
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Bring in the Bass
Now that we have the backbone rhythm under our belts, let’s try a single-note rhythm. In BASS-LINE BOOGIE you’ll use the same chord structure as in 12-Bar Shuffle, but instead of playing chords, you’ll play a repeating single-note riff.
Notice that we start with the same bass note as before, and we’ll play the same rhythm: an eighth-note shuffle. I recommend playing this part with all downstrokes to give the rhythm a bit more bounce.
You’re also going to palm mute the notes to give the rhythm a driving, but slightly tempered, feel. Anchor the heel of your picking-hand palm on the bridge of your guitar, then bring it slightly forward so that it rests on the lowest four strings. Play each string open. The notes should sound, but they should have a thudding, rather than ringing, quality.
When you’re playing over the C chord, use your index finger on the eighth fret and your ring finger on the tenth fret. When the chord switches to F, move the whole pattern over one string. For G, move the F pattern two frets higher, just like in the last example. Remember, the bass notes for this pattern are the bass notes for the shuffle chords.
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Bass-Line Boogie
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Bass-Line Boogie, Played Slowly
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Honk Like a Horn
For our final addition to the shuffle party, we’ll play blaring, full-chord accents on movable chord shapes to simulate a horn part and complement the rhythms we’ve already got going. The first chord, C7, in SHUFFLE HONK (below) may be familiar to you. If not, just fret a regular C chord, then put your pinky on the third fret of the third string. For this example, you don’t want to play the first or sixth strings, so either mute them by touching them lightly with your index and ring fingers, respectively, or avoid them when you strum.
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For the F7 and G7, you will be moving the same chord shape up the neck. For F7, slide the C7 shape up the neck so your first finger is on the sixth fret. Strumming through the same four strings gives you an entirely new chord. Pretty slick, huh? G7 is the same thing moved up two more frets (first finger should be at the eighth fret).
We’ll still use the eighth-note breakdown in each measure, but instead of playing every beat and upbeat, play the first downbeat and the upbeat of two. Remember, these are short, clipped accents, so strum loudly through the chord, then immediately deaden the strings by lifting your fretting fingers just slightly—enough that the strings stop ringing. Your fingers should still touch the strings. If you prefer, you can use a palm mute instead.
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Shuffle Honk
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Shuffle Honk, Played Slowly
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Play a Three-Part Blues
With these three parts, you should be able to create a nice, swinging blues shuffle. The first two parts can both be used on their own: play one chorus (one time through the 12-bar blues) using the chords, then play one with the single-note riff. Shuffle Honk only works as a second guitar part to complement one or both of the other parts. If you are playing with other guitarists, try using these various parts and mix it up. You can probably figure some variations on these examples that will sound cool, as well. Keep it simple and danceable, and soon you’ll be rockin’ like a caveman on roller skates.
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All Three Parts Played Together
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Behind the Notes: Moving Movable Shapes
Movable shapes are only helpful if you know where to move them. First, you need to find the root note of the shape. For all the examples in this lesson, your index finger frets the root note. So all you have to do is find the root note of the chord you want, move the chord shape or riff so your index finger is fretting the root, and ta-da! You’re playing the right notes! If you memorize the notes on just the low E (sixth) string, you will go a long way in recognizing the bass/root notes for many chords.
For example, let’s say you want to play the power-chord shuffle in the key of A so you can record a backing track to try the soloing ideas in “Solo Trek” Use the same power chord shape, but move your index finger to the A note on the fifth fret of the sixth string for the A chord, the fifth fret of the fifth string for the D chord, and the seventh fret of the fifth string for the E chord. See how useful this is?
Blues Masters
Listen to how these masters of the genre each have a different style to their blues shuffle. Each player mixes up his rhythm playing with lead riffs, but how and when they choose to play riffs differs. Many of these players use distortion, which gives great sustain to their playing, but they rely on palm muting and deadening strings to control the sound.
“Hide Away,” Freddy King. A storehouse of blues riffs in E.
“Change It,” Stevie Ray Vaughan. Vaughan used a circular motion with his strumming hand to get that feel in his rhythm playing.
“Red House,” Jimi Hendrix. A great example of a searing slow blues.
“Keep Your Hands to Yourself, ” the Georgia Satellites. Fun and playful.
“Avalanche,” Albert Collins. Collins plucked the strings with his fingers, getting an incredible tone.
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Printable Version
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