Shuffle

What it means

Shuffle denotes a rhythm in which eighth notes are played not evenly but unevenly in a triplet feel: a long note is followed by a short one, in a ratio of roughly two to one. This creates a rocking, forward-driving pulse.

The term describes both the rhythmic way of playing and the resulting style of a piece, such as the shuffle blues.

In the notation

The eighths are usually written as straight eighth-note pairs, accompanied by an instruction such as 'shuffle' or a note that eighths are to be played as triplets. The rhythm can be written out precisely with a quarter-note and eighth-note triplet.

Musical use

The shuffle is a hallmark of blues, boogie-woogie, and early rock 'n' roll, and is found equally in swing and jazz, where similar uneven eighths are usual. In rock music it is often carried by the drums on the hi-hat or ride cymbal, while bass and guitar pick up the rocking pulse.

The exact ratio of long to short note is not fixed and varies with style and tempo, from nearly straight to markedly dotted.

The shuffle should be distinguished from straight eighths, as usual in rock or pop, and from swing, which likewise uses uneven eighths but is usually phrased more loosely and variably.

Performance practice

First count 'one-and-a, two-and-a' to internalize the triplet feel, then deliberately leave out the middle note of each group so that only long and short sound. Listen to recordings to find the fitting ratio for the style in question.