Swung Sixteenth Note Grooves

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.

If you require additional help with any of the techniques used here, the following courses (all included in the monthly subscription cost) should prove useful:

• Intermediate Level – Slap Bass – The Swung Sixteenth Note Feel
• Intermediate Level – Song Tutorials – Jocelyn Brown ‘Somebody Else’s Guy’
• Intermediate Level – Study Pieces – Intermediate Slap Bass Study #1

Don’t forget to hit the Download Resources button above to get the PDF worksheet and audio files for this piece (available to subscribers only). The worksheet is available with TAB and without, for those who wish to give their reading skills a workout.

This course is 20 MINUTES long and contains the following videos, each of which can be selected from the video player above: