3 Beat Bounce Rhythm

Today we’ll look at a new rhythm. One that is utilised by songs written 3 beats per bar, or 3/ 4.

A steady three beat bar is played by the RIGHT hand. An example of this is the Waltz: “one, two, three, one, two, three…”. The FIRST beat of each bar, or otherwise chord change, is played by the LEFT hand. ALSO on every “half beat” played AFTER second and third beats.

Try these with the C Chord. Repeat and practice until you get the hang of it.

Below is a three beat SLASH sequence. Try it and see if you can play it.

Here are some 3 beat bounce progressions you can try.

Try the Wild Rover next.

Another rhythm we’re learning today is the 12/8 Country Shuffle. Let’s get started!

This rhythm is a fusion of the UM-PAH rhythm (left hand) and the SPLIT CHORD rhythm (right hand). Always keep in mind that each bar contains 12 beats, but only the first and third beats of each 3-beat group are tapped out.

Note the ‘SHUFFLES’.

Play the same shuffle rhythm by using a chord split on the right hand between your thumb and third & fifth fingers, in combination with two notes on your left hand.

When you TRANSPOSE the rhythm to chords F and G, then you’ll be half-way to playing almost any country song!