Shuffle

In the shuffle two eighth notes are not divided into two equal halves but “lopsided”: the first lasts twice as long as the second. Counted within a beat the second eighth note lies on the last third, like the third note of an eighth-note triplet whose middle note is left out. That gives a hopping, dragging gait that shapes the blues and many rock songs.

How the shuffle is notated

Shuffle pieces are often printed with straight eighth notes and a marking such as “shuffle” or “swing”, sometimes with an equation (two eighth notes = triplet with the first two notes tied). The player knows that the eighth notes are to be played not straight but long–short. The rhythm can be calculated exactly in twelve-eight time: there each beat is written as a quarter note plus an eighth note. The example above shows both ways of writing in comparison.

Shuffle or triplet?

The shuffle is closely related to the triplet. You play in a grid of threes in which the middle note of each group of three is missing. A shuffle is therefore always “triplet-based”, even if no triplet is written anywhere. Straight eighth notes, by contrast, have a grid of twos. The difference is audible when counting along: first count “1 and 2 and” straight. Then count each beat in three syllables (“trip-a-let”) and play only the first and the third syllable.

Typical use

The shuffle belongs to the craft of blues and rock. In many blues pieces it lies over the twelve-bar blues form, for instance in the accompaniment of a guitar or drums. It is also widespread in early rhythm and blues and in rock 'n' roll.