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Blues - History And Development Drummers Guide Part Two

By: Eric Starr

In the mid 1980s Stevie Ray Vaughan, with his blistering electric Blues and guitar virtuosity, almost single handedly brought Blues to greater popularity than ever before. At the same time, Robert Cray resurrected and modernized West Coast Blues, updating the style popularized by T-Bone Walker in the 1940s and 1950s. Despite the death of Vaughan in 1990, Blues has retained its popularity. There are now annual Blues festivals in many American cities, and Blues (along with Country and Rock) is one of the most popular forms of music in many parts of the U.S. However, in the mid 1980s Stevie Ray Vaughan, with his blistering electric Blues and guitar virtuosity, almost single handedly brought Blues to greater popularity than ever before.

At the same time, Robert Cray resurrected and modernized West Coast Blues, updating the style popularized by T-Bone Walker in the 1940s and 1950s. Despite the death of Vaughan in 1990, Blues has retained its popularity. There are now annual Blues festivals in many American cities, and Blues (along with Country and Rock) is one of the most popular forms of music in many parts of the U.S.

The Chicago shuffle is identical to the jazz Shuffle with the name corresponding to the style in which it's played ("Chicago Shuffle" for Blues, "Jazz Shuffle" for jazz). The Chicago Shuffle is one of the earlier shuffle feels, stemming from a combination of Blues and Swing. Having a bigger sound, this style is most practical in a large Blues band (i.e., with horn section) or Big Band setting, but can be used in smaller bands (both Blues and Jazz) during the climactic sections of songs. The execution and timing of the unison hand pattern is the defining element of the groove. The tempo of the Chicago Shuffle also covers a large range of quarter note = 80-160 beats per minute.

Another useful groove in the Blues genre is the Backdoor Shuffle (sometimes called the "Upbeat Shuffle"). Its predominant characteristic and the only thing that distinguishes it from the Chicago Shuffle is the repetitive snare drum note on the last triplet of each beat. A good example of this feel is found in "'Midnight Stroll" by Robert Cray (with drummer Kevin Hayes). Just as in the Standard Blues Shuffle, the ride hand pattern can be moved to the ride cymbal with the hi hat foot on beats 2 & 4. Another practical hi hat foot pattern is to play all four quarter notes. The tempo is similar to other Blues Shuffles at quarter note = 80-160 beats per minute.

This pattern is attributed to Bernard Purdie, an innovative contemporary drummer who combines Blues with Funk. An important element of the pattern is the use of ghost notes. Lightly played on the snare drum, the ghost notes should blend in well with the sound of the hi hat. This technique fills out the triplets around the back beat of the snare. Notice that the Purdie shuffle is exactly the same as variation 4 of the Standard Blues Shuffle with the addition of ghost notes in the snare hand. Generally, the Purdie Shuffle is most practical in a syncopated and/or busy Blues setting. The tempo of the Purdie Shuffle is quarter note = 100-160 beats per minute.

Article Source: http://www.articlekingpro.com

By Eric Starg. Depending on a gig, Eric is using different Drum Sets, sometimes he utilizes a set that is build from different Drum Parts, or Hand Drums only.

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