The shuffle rhythm

Swung eighth notes

Until now, your eighth notes were even: “1 and 2 and,” two equal halves of the beat. With swing, the first eighth note of each pair is longer than the second, roughly two-thirds and one-third of the beat. Say “doo-ba, doo-ba,” leaning on the “doo”: that’s the shuffle.

The three chords of a blues in A

A blues in A revolves around A7, D7 and E7, which you saw in the lesson Seventh chords. Keep their diagrams in view for what comes next.

The shuffle with chords

The pendulum from Step 3, with swung eighth notes: down on the beats, up on the delayed “ands.” Listen first, then play along.

The boogie riff

The most typical shuffle sound uses just two strings. The open A string stays as the bass; on the D string, your index plays the 2nd fret and your ring finger the 4th, twice each.

e|-----------------|
B|-----------------|
G|-----------------|
D|-2-2-4-4-2-2-4-4-|
A|-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-|
E|-----------------|

The same shape moves over for D (D and G strings) and for E (low E and A strings):

e|-----------------|
B|-----------------|
G|-2-2-4-4-2-2-4-4-|
D|-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-|
A|-----------------|
E|-----------------|

e|-----------------|
B|-----------------|
G|-----------------|
D|-----------------|
A|-2-2-4-4-2-2-4-4-|
E|-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-|

Strum with downstrokes only, with a light palm mute if you want a tighter sound.

You’ve got it when…

• You can hear the difference between even and swung eighth notes
• A7, D7 and E7 ring out with no muted strings
• You play the boogie riff in A, D and E with a swing feel