What is the Blues Shuffle Rhythm?

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So you've mastered the 12-bar blues or at least the concept of it and you want to push your blues playing to the next level. Well, The best way to liven up your playing is to learn the shuffle rhythm. I'm not sure where the name comes from, but the shuffle is a term used to describe the break up of a beat into two parts where the first is longer than the second.

The shuffle rhythm is based on an eighth note triplet rhythm. A triplet is when you use three notes in a given time space rather than two. In a standard 4/4 time signature where there is four quarter notes the eighth notes would be counted as...

1-&-2-&-3-&-4-& ... where the &'s are the eighth notes between each quarter. to fill the same time signature with eighth note triplets we would count as...

1-trip-let-2-trip-let-3-trip-let-4-trip-let ... where the trip's and let's are eighth notes totaling three per quarter note. So basically...

1-& = 1-trip-let

The blues shuffle rhythm is achieved by playing the first and third notes in a series of triplets. So if the count is...

1-trip-let-2-trip-let-3-trip-let-4-trip-let ... then you will be playing on all the down-beats or numbers and the let's. I have bolded the notes you should be striking to better illustrate.

1-trip-let-2-trip-let-3-trip-let-4-trip-let.

To hear what the shuffle rhythm really sounds like try listening to Led Zeppelin's - You Shook Me or Grateful Dead's - Truckin

I hope this has cleared up any confusion you may have been having with the blues shuffle rhythm or maybe it made it worse. Remember you can always ask me a question by clicking the contact link at the bottom of the nav bar and sending an e-mail. Ready to start playing the shuffle rhythm?

Check out this easy guitar lesson [http://www.learn-electric-guitar.com/easyguitarlesson.html] that rocks and download the tab on that page. Play it using the shuffle rhythm and you'll see how cool it really is.

Teach Yourself to Play Guitar Even If You Are An Absolute Beginner Guitar Player

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If you really want to learn how to play guitar you can find a way. With all of the guitar playing information out there it is much easier to learn to play today than it was years ago. Although private lessons are a great method of learning to play guitar it is not the only learning method out there. Even an absolute beginner guitar player can learn how to play with all of the options available to you today.

If you put forth the effort you can teach yourself all of those cool tunes you would love to know how to play. One good way to learn how to pick is to find an online lesson source. There are many websites online that can teach you both absolute beginner guitar and advanced lessons. Many of these sites are free while others charge a fee. There are tons of great players out there that have never had a formal lesson in their life.

If you are new at playing the guitar you should probably start with some simple method that is designed for the beginning guitarist. Learning how to read guitar tablature and teaching yourself a few simple chords along with some strum patterns would be a good start. With this humble beginning you should be on your way to learning how to play the guitar. Before you know it you will be playing your own style of music.

One way some people learn to play is by ear. This involves listing to the song you want to learn and trying to copy the sound you hear. It may be a little while before you can use this method but it is the best way to find your own voice and play the guitar in a way that only you can do.

Playing music with other people will take your playing to new levels. There is something about playing with your buddies that makes you a better player. All of those bad habits you tend to develop will go away if you spend enough time playing with other people.

At some point you will realize that you must put in the time if you want to be a great guitar player. You can buy the next great method as many times as you like but it may not make you a better player. You must practice if you want to be a good guitar player. As you teach yourself it is important to stay motivated. As you get to be a better player you will move into advanced topics that you may not be able to master in a day. You need to spend the time it takes to do things right without losing interest. Sometimes this is a tough thing to do.

If you take the time to do things right you will have a hobby that you can enjoy for the rest of your life. Anything worth doing is worth taking the time to get it right. With enough time and effort you will soon be playing guitar like a pro even if you are an absolute beginner guitar player today.

Nuno Bettencourt - Decadence Dance Guitar Lesson

Nuno Bettencourts shows you how to play Decadence Dance!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZP4tQRCaug&hl=en

Pentatonics PT 3 Guitar Lesson by Siggi Mertens

Third part of the lessons with the pentatonic scale



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kg1skspndYE&hl=en