Lesson Goal: To quickly internalize the country piano swing / shuffle comping pattern… by ear, intellect, eye, and muscle…
Table of Contents
Prerequisites
Basic music reading skills… the LOVE of music… and the discipline to study and practice.
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Country Piano Swing / Shuffle comping pattern
A staple of playing country music is this country piano swing / shuffle comping pattern… applied to a 16 bar song form in two 8 bar sections in the key of A… a la “Guitars and Cadillacs”…
Notice the patterns: (1) Left Hand = 1-3-5-3 of the prevailing chord in flowing 1/4 notes, (2) Right Hand = triads “strummed” in swing 1/8th notes in the middle register, chords connected using voice leading.
Performance & Technique Tips: (1) Imagine that your left hand is the bass player and your right hand is the rhythm guitar player, (2) Play each bass note with a separate impulse, but don’t attack the keys, (3) Try playing the right hand chords as if you’re brushing the keys as you pull your arm and hand away, (4) Feel and keep the time in mostly in your flowing arms, not your fingers!
Listen to Frank demonstrate one way to play this at 140 beats per minute (feel free to experiment with various amounts of swing and staccato to suit your personal taste and the feel of the tune you’re playing at the time)…
Your Homework
Using your knowledge of scales and chords (and your ears, of course) play this country piano swing pattern with a rhythm track in all keys you expect to play in. Suggested keys are those preferred by guitar players: C, G, D, A, and E.
Practice Tracks: Country Swing / Shuffle Drums
The most basic Country Swing / Shuffle Rhythm–kick on 1 & 3, snare on 2 & 4, hi-hat swings / shuffles…
Listen to a short sample at 150 bpm…
Country Swing Drums (MP3s)
Downloadable drum tracks for jamming along and tightening up your Country Swing Rhythm… 11 MP3s, each long enough to wear you out, tempos ranging from 100 to 200 bpm in 10 bpm increments…
The benefits of playing along with a click track at various tempos cannot be overstated: very slowly at first to have enough time to “think about everything”, then fast enough to be forced to “play without thinking”.
Play Along Swing Drums @ 90 bpm…
Play Along Swing Drums @ 100 bpm…
Play Along Swing Drums @ 110 bpm…
Play Along Swing Drums @ 120 bpm…
Play Along Swing Drums @ 130 bpm…
Play Along Swing Drums @ 140 bpm…
Play Along Swing Drums @ 150 bpm…
Play Along Swing Drums @ 160 bpm…
Play Along Swing Drums @ 170 bpm…
Play Along Swing Drums @ 180 bpm…
For a donation to the website (Donations Page) Frank would be happy to send you his entire library of Country Piano Comping Patterns and Drum Tracks produced to date… accessible by a direct link to three sets of downloadable zip files that include high res PDF music scores and full length MP3 drum tracks for the country piano two step, country piano swing, and county piano waltz.
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learn more… Country Piano Lessons
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