Slow Struttin'

Effective approaches to medium/slow shuffles

- BY JOE BONAMASSA

A BIG PART of blues is playing over a "shuffle" groove — a triplet-driven swing-eighths feel with a backbeat (accents on beats 2 and 4) — at various tempos. There are many great shuffle-based tunes. An example of a great slow shuffle is Jimmy Reed's “Bright Lights, Big City,” and a great uptempo shuffle is Memphis Slim's “Steppin' Out," covered brilliantly by John Mayall with Eric Clapton on the Bluesbreakers' 1966 album.

One of my favorite medium-slow shuffles is Jeff Beck's “Rock My Plimsoul,” which was featured on his debut album, Truth, and is based on the B.B. King blues classic “Rock Me Baby.” Played in the key of B, the tune’s main riff is similar to bar 1 of