Once you learn a variety of these grooves you may wonder why some drummers’ shuffles feel so good. Once you get these down, experiment with other bass drum patterns. The slower you work on the hand pattern, the sooner you’ll be able to get the dynamics under control. Once that’s solid and the dynamics are consistent, layer it on top of the much simpler foot pattern (the second limb pair). Another way I often teach grooves is to isolate the hand pattern (the first limb pair) in order to master it first. Keep in mind that patterns C and D are often interchangeably referred to as Texas Shuffles. One way of teaching this groove is to start with a basic shuffle and add notes to the snare and bass drum parts until you’re eventually playing the whole pattern. For greater control, work on just accenting the snare hand and keeping the ride or hi-hat even.ĪDD-A-NOTE METHOD. Most drummers accent both the snare and ride together, mainly because it’s easier to do it that way. Here’s a tip: To play a quick accent after a soft note, it can help to use a Moeller “whipping” motion or use your fingers to “grab” the stick briefly. The accented snare note can be played in the middle of the drumhead for a meaty sound, or as a rimshot for a higher pitched ringing timbre. Admittedly, you can also perform this groove with medium level “soft” notes, but by practicing them softly you’ll be ready for any musical situation. The challenge is getting the left-hand dynamics just right, so practice playing all the unaccented notes very softly. If you can’t play any other shuffle, you should at least have a handle on the Double Shuffle. Drummer Bobby Morris played it on Louis Prima’s song “Just A Gigolo,” though you’re probably more familiar with David Lee Roth’s 1985 redo of it. This groove has been around for quite some time. It goes by so many aliases it almost makes you wonder if it’s on the lam from the law. The Double Shuffle is also known as the Chicago Shuffle, the Full Shuffle, the Prima Shuffle, and sometimes the Texas Shuffle, as well as several other names. Feel free to add variations on the cymbal, foot, or snare patterns to spice up any shuffle once you’re comfortable playing it. More advanced drummers can expand these by buzzing or playing soft drags instead of ghost notes for different textures. ![]() To master these, play the unaccented snare notes very softly. ![]() ![]() When playing these on the ride cymbal, you may close your hi-hat with the snare note. Once you’re comfortable with these, you can link pairs together to create longer and more interesting patterns. Keep your snare and bass drum medium strong, and play your hi-hat softer using the tip to create a musically balanced sound. Practice each slowly until it becomes comfortable, and then try speeding up the tempo. These grooves are written in 6/8, and since they’re shorter, they’re easier to master. GETTING STARTEDįor those new to shuffles, we’ll start with a few blues beats that aren’t technically shuffles, but will help you get used to the feel of triplet-based beats. Sometimes the feet play the shuffle, or it’s divided among several limbs, or occasionally it’s just implied. However, as you’ll soon see, there are countless variations on this idea. Shuffles generally sound like a child skipping, with a cymbal pattern playing the pattern 1 – ah 2 – ah 3 – ah 4 – ah. I’ll refer to both patterns as being counted as 1 & ah 2 & ah 3 & ah 4 & ah because it’s easier to count them that way, even though my music theory teacher would slap my wrists for that. So, to help you adjust to this idea, we’ve presented the following examples both ways-in either case, they’re more or less equivalent. ![]() WHAT IS A SHUFFLE?Īs you dig deep into shuffle pedagogy, you’ll find that they’re sometimes written as triplets in 4/4 and other times as 12/8. So let’s take your shuffle to the next level. You may be content knowing a handful of basic patterns, but there are dozens of types of shuffle grooves that can help you develop greater control and coordination while expanding your fluency. Shuffles can lightly bounce behind a track or drive like a freight train, and everything in between. Shuffles play a crucial role in every professional drummer’s vocabulary, and those still struggling to get the hang of this particular feel might be surprised to learn there’s a lot more to it than meets the eye. Can’t play a convincing shuffle? You might as well cross a whole range of potential gigs off your bucket list.
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