Shuffle: drum pattern and how to play it
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Practice
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Song grooves
· Simplified drum grooves in the style of famous songs — not exact transcriptions.
- Time signature
- 12/8
- Tempo
- 110–162 BPM
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Loop
- 4 bars
| Hi-hat | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snare | ||||||||||||
| Kick |
| Hi-hat | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High tom | ||||||||||||
| Floor tom | ||||||||||||
| Snare | ||||||||||||
| Kick |
Each row is one drum, each column one step. Large dots are accents, small dots normal hits, faint dots ghost notes.
About this groove
The time is kept with a long–short shuffle rhythm on the hi-hat. The kick plays on 1 and 3. The snare accents fall on 2, 2a, 4 and 4a. The loop is 4 bars long, and the fourth bar ends with a short fill around the toms.
In our catalog 4 songs use it, from 110 to 162 BPM.
Who plays what: notes per bar
| Cymbal hand | 8 |
|---|---|
| Snare hand | 4 |
| Kick foot | 2 |
Every kick lines up with a cymbal stroke, which makes this one of the easiest coordination patterns to start with.
How to practice it
- Press Play and listen to a few loops while counting out loud: 1 & a 2 & a 3 & a 4 & a.
- Lower the tempo to 70 BPM and play just the kick and snare along with the player.
- Add the hi-hat part. When the loop feels relaxed, move up to 95 BPM.
- Finally play the full groove at 120 BPM, including the fill, then try it without the player.
- Think in groups of three: every beat is split into a triplet “1-&-a”.
Compared with the nearest groove
Compared with “No Woman, No Cry” (Bob Marley & The Wailers, one drop reggae beat), this groove adds kick notes on 1, adds snare accents on 2, 2a, 4 and 4a and drops the snare on 3 — and it runs 42 BPM faster. If you can already play that one, this is your next step. one drop reggae beat →