Blues rhythm patterns center around an extremely important rhythm called a shuffle. In order to start playing some of your first blues songs, you must understand this rhythm.
Once you get a grasp on the blues shuffle, you’ll be able to play blues songs that are, well, more bluesy!
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Originally published on March 22, 2019, his post was republished on August 4, 2022.
What Is a Blues Shuffle?
A blues shuffle is a rhythmic pattern that is the rhythmic backbone of playing the blues.
Whether you’ve listened to the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, or B.B. King, almost all guitar players utilize a shuffle rhythm at some point in their career.
The basic component of a blues shuffle involves alternating guitar notes in a dotted quarter note rhythm.
Once you start playing a blues shuffle, you’ll begin to feel the shuffle. You can feel the momentum behind playing a blues shuffle, and once you start playing it, you won’t be able to stop!
As one of the most important blues rhythm patterns, the blues shuffle will give you a solid foundation in your guitar journey.
Whether you want to start playing rock, bluegrass, jazz, or funk, understanding the blues shuffle teaches you important parts of playing the guitar like rhythm, feel, and basic song structure.
Our blues shuffle lesson is just one part of our comprehensive program designed to help you learn the guitar in 30 days.
The 30 Days to Play Challenge isn’t about rote memorization, boring exercises, or tons of music theory.
Instead, 30 Days to Play gives you the information you need to start jamming and playing the guitar. That’s why one of our first lessons is learning the blues!
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How to Play a Blues Shuffle
A shuffle is a rhythm of 8th notes played with a triplet feel, which means you’re essentially playing 3/4 time over a 4/4 beat.
This causes the music to swing and lends it that quintessential blues sound that makes you want to tap your feet.
While it might sound complicated when hearing it, a blues shuffle is actually quite easy to learn. What makes it so easy is that the pattern of each part of the shuffle is the same.
So once you learn how to play the first part, you simply move your hand to the next set of strings using the same pattern.
What’s great about this is that you can create an entire song simply by moving the same pattern around the strings and fretboard.
You can follow along with the video lesson above to see the blues shuffle in action – but here are the steps to start practicing:
We’re going to start by playing just the low E and the A string, and we’re going to be fretting just on the A string.
- Place your index finger on the second fret of the A string.
- Then, strum the low E and the A string twice with downstrokes.
- Next, place your ring finger on the fourth fret of the A string.
- Then, mimic the same picking pattern as above – two downstrokes.
- Play this for four bars.
Once you can play this pattern well, move the shape down to the D string.
- Place your index finger on the second fret of the D string.
- Strum the D string and open the A string twice with downstrokes.
- Next, place your ring finger on the fourth fret of the D string.
- Then, mimic the same picking pattern as above – two downstrokes.
- Play this for four bars.
This is the basic pattern of the blues shuffle.
If you’re looking for more information about the blues or you want to learn some blues licks to lay on top of your blues shuffle visit the rest of Acoustic Life for more lessons and content geared toward acoustic guitar players.
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