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Swung Sixteenth Note Grooves

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When it comes to playing slap bass grooves, many of us fall into the trap of playing only in 4/4 time with a straight feel. Of course, music comes in all shapes and sizes and it’s vital that you’re able to apply your slap chops to a variety of different feels and time signatures. With that in mind, in this video course we’ll be looking at some exercises which are played with a swung sixteenth note feel.

Swung sixteenth note grooves have an underlying triplet feel. This means that in a group of four sixteenth notes the first and third subdivisions are slightly longer, whilst the second and fourth are slightly shorter. This creates a swung feel to the sixteenth note pulse.

To become comfortable with this feel, I recommend listening to ‘Superstition’ by Stevie Wonder’ and ‘Somebody Else’s Guy’ by Jocelyn Brown. Both are great examples of the swung sixteenth note feel.

You can learn more about swung sixteenth note grooves in the Slap Bass – Advanced Level video course, which you can find HERE. Don't forget to hit the Download Resources button above to receive the PDF worksheet and audio files that accompany these lessons.

This course contains the following videos, each of which can be selected from the video player above:

Exercise #75

This exercise is a simple ascending line that moves from an E minor chord to an A dominant seventh chord. Watch out for the ‘shake’ at the end of the fourth bar.

Exercise #76

This exercise is similar in style to the line on Jocelyn Brown’s hit song ‘Somebody Else’s Guy’.

Exercise #77

This exercise features a lot of space.

Exercise #78

This exercise is a unison riff that is similar in style to one of the riffs from ‘Superstition’, by Stevie Wonder. This track is a great reference for the swung sixteenth note feel.

Exercise #79

This exercise features a lot of heavy syncopation, which is made more challenging because of the swung sixteenth note feel.