Triplet-based shuffle grooves for twelve-bar blues, slow blues and swinging rock. Press Play and the drums keep going until you stop them. Pick a tempo below or set your own anywhere from 50 to 220 BPM.
How a blues shuffle drum beat works
A shuffle divides each beat into three and plays the first and last parts: long-short, long-short. Your part should swing the same way. If you play straight eighths over a shuffle, the band sounds like it is arguing with itself.
How to play along
Play a twelve-bar blues over it: four bars of I, two of IV, two of I, then V, IV, I, V. Guitarists can use the classic boogie shape on the lowest strings and swing every pair of notes. Count "one-and-a two-and-a" to feel the triplets.
The blues shuffle grooves on this page
When the Levee Breaks is slow, heavy and half-time. The Purdie Shuffle adds ghost-note triplets for a lighter, bouncing feel. Fool in the Rain Shuffle is a busy half-time shuffle with a lot of forward motion.
Common practice tempos
Start with 70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120 and 130 BPM. Each tempo has its own page with the right groove already selected, so you can bookmark the one you are working on.