Acknowledgements and Credits 4 About the Author 6 Dancing with the Stars 7 Introduction 10 The Language of the Triplet 11 A Brief Histor of the Half-Time Shuffle 12 The azz and Funk Connection 18 Swing Shuffle Groove Evolution 19 Intentional Practice 20 Developing a Song Repertoire 21 TABLE OF CONTENTS The Foundation 22 Regular-Time and Half-Time Shuffles 22 Quarter-Note Shuffle 2 Basic Swung-Eighth-Note Shuffles 24 Quarter-Note Triplet Split 25 Snare/Bass Drum Independence Exercises 26 Quarter-Note Triplet Bass Drum Ostinato Patterns 27 Introducing the Half-Time Shuffle 28 Basic Half-Time Shuffles 28 Basic Half-Time Shuffles with Ghost Notes 29 Classic Ghost-Note Snare Pattern 0 Classic Ghost-Note Snare Pattern Variation Part 1 1 Classic Ghost-Note Snare Pattern Variation Part 2 2 Classic Ghost-Note Snare Pattern Variation Part Regular-Time Ghost-Note Snare Pattern 4 Hi-Hat Independence 5 Hi-Hat Accent on 2 & 4 5 Hi-Hat Opening on Third Partial of Triplet 41 Hi-Hat Opening on First Partial of Triplet 47 Ride and Hi-Hat Independence 5 Alternating Ride and Hi-Hat Swung Eighths 5 Third Partial of Triplet with Quarter-Note Ride 59 Third Partial of Triplet with Swung-Eighth-Note Ride 65 2
Half-Time Shuffle Enhancements 71 Diddles 71 Snare Drum Triplet Accents with Swung Eighth Notes (Sncopation Examples) 75 Tom-Tom Substitutions 78 Buzzes 79 Alternating Ride and Hi-Hat Fills 80 0 Classic Half-Time Shuffle Transcriptions Ain t Nothing Like The Real Thing The Search for Authenticit 81 Please Return Your Love to Me b The Temptations 81 Loose Boot b Funkadelic 82 Hercules b Aaron Neville 82 Can t Sa Nothin b Curtis Mafield 82 Back to the World b Curtis Mafield 8 Knucklehead b Grover Washington, r 8 Sweet Stick Thing b The Ohio Plaers 84 Down to Your Soul b Tom Scott 84 A Feeling Is b The Emotions 84 Home at Last b Steel Dan 85 Fool in the Rain b Led Zeppelin 86 Chuck E s in Love b Rickie Lee ones 86 Mama b Toto 86 Bablon Sisters b Steel Dan 87 Oh, Marion b Paul Simon 87 Breakin Awa b Al arreau 88 Rosanna b Toto 88 The Girl Is Mine b Michael ackson/paul McCartne 89 Something Special b Earth, Wind & Fire 89 Mornin b Al arreau 90 An Foolish Thing b Michael McDonald 90 Pamela b Toto 90 Sweet Potato Pie b ames Talor 91 The Christmas Song b Luther Vandross 91 For Your Love b Stevie Wonder 91 Little More Time with You b ames Talor 92 Sweet Potato Pie b Ra Charles/ames Talor 92 ingle Bells b ames Talor 9 Grapevine Fires b Death Cab for Cutie 9 Prett Wings b Maxwell 9 TABLE OF CONTENTS Expanding Your Knowledge Base 94 More Zoro Reference Material 96
INTRODUCTION Introduction Success, real success, in an endeavor demands more from an individual than most people are willing to offer not more than the are capable of offering ames Roche Welcome to The Commandments of the Half-Time Shuffle This book represents a vision I have held deep in m heart for over two decades, so it brings me great jo to see this one-of-a-kind method book come to life! M specific goal with this book is to give ou the practical methodolog to delve into the master of the half-time shuffle If ou choose to master this wonderfull unique feel, ou will find that its governing rhthmic principles will enable ou to pla a wide variet of other grooves that are equall infectious and useful All rhthms and grooves are cousins or distant relatives of other rhthms and grooves So the more ou reall develop one, the easier it is to develop others In the same wa that a standard college class credit would transfer to another school, man of the rhthmic principles here will transfer equall as well This book is broken down into six major sections Each of them prepares ou for the next more challenging set of independence exercises and grooves If ou make the commitment to work through each section, ou will inevitabl come out with greater control and master over the language itself No matter what our current skill level happens to be, I believe that working through this book will benefit an drummer who takes on the challenge Both the novice and pro alike will find it rewarding and certainl worth the effort it will take to proficientl master all the patterns As with an groove, there is almost an endless arra of combinations one could develop Those presented here are merel the conceptual ideas I have found helpful as well as ver applicable to a variet of usable grooves that emphasize the swung triplet feel Whether ou are plaing blues, hip-hop, or jazz, this material will onl enhance our abilit to execute those feels at a much higher level Once ou have mastered these grooves, our goal should be to exercise our own creativit and take this groove to new and uncharted territor At this time, I d like to give a shout-out to m partner Dustin Ransom who facilitated all of the transcriptions and notation throughout this book and did an amazing job, if I sa so mself! Both he and I have gone to great lengths to bring to ou the most in-depth and thorough method book ever written on the subject of the half-time shuffle An incredible amount of hard work, love, and passion has gone into this project It is our hope that ou enjo delving into this incredible groove and the music that best represents it, as much as we have enjoed bringing it to ou Music moves us, and we know not wh; we feel the tears, but cannot trace their source Is it the language of some other state, born of its memor? For what can wake the soul s strong instinct of another world, like music? Letitia Elizabeth Landon Taking first things first often reduces the most complex human problem to a manageable proportion Dwight D Eisenhower 10
Basic Swung-Eighth-Note Shuffles Here are some nice basic shuffles where both the bass drum and our lead riding hand are swinging in tandem Even though the ma seem simple, the ke is to make them feel great which is easier said than done! Alwas practice these grooves at a variet of tempos for greater control The slower and reall fast tempos are especiall difficult, so never forsake working on those 1 4 7 10 1 2 ã4 4 ã4 4 ã4 4 ã4 4 5 ã4 4 6 ã4 4 8 9 ã4 4 ã4 4 ã4 4 11 ã4 4 ã4 4 12 ã4 4 ã4 4 24
Third Partial of Triplet with Quarter-Note Ride This is perhaps one of m favorite sections of this book and one of m all-time favorite was to pla a shuffle Plaing the hi-hat foot on the third partial of the triplet is especiall challenging from an independence standpoint In order to effectivel use this rhthmic concept, ou ll need to have a variet of triplet language mastered between the bass drum and snare drum against that consistent third note of the triplet being plaed with the hi-hat foot I first heard this wa of plaing a shuffle back in the 1960s on a song called Terrible Thing b the legendar Memphis, Tennessee soul group Booker T & the MG s Once I heard drummer Al ackson r do this, I became intrigued with that wa of plaing a shuffle and began to work on a variet of independence exercises to help me garner more freedom to pla it without losing that reall unique hi-hat foot pattern Your goal should be to eventuall solo confidentl in a shuffle setting, with our hi-hat foot plaing that third note of the triplet without stopping the hi-hat foot pattern This adds so much to the feel and keeps that swinging triplet pulse going throughout the groove, making it rhthmicall stronger b introducing counterpoint to our solos Main Pattern Main Pattern with Snare Triplet Divisions 4 ã4 4 ã ã ã ã ã ã4 4 59
Buzzes A buzz is a multiple-bounce stroke that lasts for as long as the written note value Buzzes are a great wa to further embellish our comping work and are snonmous with an kind of shuffle The re used frequentl in all forms of R&B music The examples presented here are classic and the backbone of an buzzing ou would do in a shuffle setting Exercise No 1 Exercise No 2 ã4 4 z z z z ã4 4 z z z z ã4 ã4 z = Indicates a buzz z z z z 4 z z z z Exercise No Exercise No 4 ã4 4 z z z z z z z z ã4 4 Groove Example No 1 o ã z z z z z z z o 4 o z Groove Example No 2 ã z z z z z z z z z z z z z Ó 79