Chords for S.W.A.T. Blues - #9 Carl's Shuffle Solo 1 Breakdown - Carl Verheyen - Guitar Lessons

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That little progression in the key of D was a shuffle and the shuffle is hard to define because
Straight eighth notes are dot dot dot dot dot dot you think a shuffle is dot dot dot dot dot dot which would be
dotted eighth sixteenth
But the real shuffle feel is actually triple meter and by triple meter
I mean instead of dividing a beat up into dot dot dot dot dot I divide it up into dot dot dot dot dot dot dot a
Shuffle feel the real swing is the middle beat of the triplet missing
So what it is is dot dot dot dot instead of dot dot dot dot dot it's dot dot dot dot dot
And that's really hard to feel I mean a lot of guys have a lot of problems with the shuffle and a lot of shuffles
Don't feel good
I can get into the difference between a Texas shuffle and a Chicago shuffle which really feel different
But instead I want to talk to you about how you make the shuffle feel
_ I was playing along with a track that's obviously a drum machine.
You know and most jam tracks you find whether they're
On CDs or on websites or whatever most of them are a drum machine kind of a thing
somebody put it together for themselves to to practice a certain progression or feel and
Didn't go out and hire a real drummer
_ In order for you to make a shuffle feel good
You have to learn how to lay it back and you have to think in terms of the time and the beat now
There's center time some drummers play perfectly great center time
I can name a few guys that I've played with in the over the years that really feel great straight up and down almost like
a drum machine
But then there are other drummers who have a pocket that's slightly behind
And they just lay it a little bit behind the beat and you count it off up here
But where they feel it is just a little bit behind that you have to learn
I mean all of us have to learn as players
Where that guy's putting the beat where his heart beats and where he feels it there are other drummers a perfect example is Stuart Copeland
I played with him a few times, and he feels it really on top and it's exciting and another drummer
I know I can name about four or five guys that have a real high energy feel you know
_ That's great.
I mean, I think it's cool that that's where their heart beats
But you have to play that groove with them if you're laying back and the drummer is pushing
It's not going to feel good and vice versa is true, too
If you're pushing and the drummers laying back, there's nothing worse you feel like you're rushing
One thing that all of us guitar players bass players.
We all hate is a drummer who drags [D] because you're feeling the time
_ _ _ _ _ That when you're [E] playing along at a certain groove and the drummer starts to drag I feel a tension in my arm
My right arm tense up, and I you know I want to push it forward and the drummers pulling it back
That's just horrible
So what you have to learn is to play with the drummer you have to learn where his heart beats [N] where his time feel is
And this is something that takes a long time for years
I've listened to the hi-hat the hi-hat is kind of this little inner time thing
Remember the bass player is going with the kick drum usually those guys are locked in in sort of more modern music
But the hi-hats playing little figures and accents especially if he's playing sticks on the hi-hat
That's a great place to find out where his time really lies
So now getting back to the track.
I just played on during that track like I said
It's a shuffle, but it's a drum machine shuffle
So it's pretty stiff playing along with one of those stiff tracks means for me to make it feel good
I need to be able to lay back on the time and make it make it just kind of back off on a little bit of a
You know just certain phrases
I just pull back on and that's something to practice so I'll demonstrate a little bit what I'm talking about
I might start with with a figure like
one two [D] three
three [A] four
_ [Dm] _ _ _ _ _ [D] _
_ [Dm] _ _ _ _ [D] _ _ [Dm] _
_ _ _ [Am] _ _ _ [G] _ _
[Dm] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ [A] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [Dm] _
_ _ _ _ [D] _ _ _ _
_ [N] So
Some of those phrases I'm pulling back on some of those phrases
I'm being real intense with and I think that's what makes the music live and breathe
That's what makes you a stronger player and makes you able to play with drummers
But um if I watch video of Jimmy Hendrix playing you know
Sometimes there's there's a video of him playing in some theater in England
I remember and he's not tapping his foot, and he's not he's not doing anything tense instead
You can see that he's feeling the time from from the top of his head to his toes
And that's real inspiring for me because if I'm playing solo guitar a lot of times
I tap my foot and just try to feel this feel the tone that way feel the time that way I mean
I get real into it, and then I say say to [E] myself damn
I'm sure putting a lot of energy into keeping that foot going
once I relax
It feels much better.
You know once I feel the time internally it feels better
And this is kind of a nebulous subject, but I suggest you use this jam track and just try to
See where you're gonna put the time push it a little play center time and try to play behind the beat and see
Record yourself doing it too because if you record yourself, that's a much easier
Gauge to to judge it by you can really hear where your time is
Nothing worse than playing a shuffle on