The Texas shuffle is a bass line and a chord chop played at once, with muted scratches filling the gaps so the groove never stops. It sounds like a whole rhythm section on one guitar.
Key: E, moving to A. Over E7 you alternate the open low E with a three-note stab on the D, G and B strings (D, G#, B). Over A7 the bass is the open A and the stab is G and C# on the G and B strings.
Keep the right hand moving down-up in a swung rhythm all the time, even when you're not hitting a note. The scratch comes from easing off the fretting fingers so the strings go dead while the pick still strikes them. Accent the stabs (the > marks) and keep the bass notes a little lighter.
Tone
Heavy strings, a single-coil in the neck or middle position, and a clean amp turned up until it just starts to growl when you dig in. Tune down a half step if your hands like the slinkier feel.
The most common mistake is stopping the picking hand during the scratches, which breaks the swing. The second is letting the stab ring into the scratch.
How to practice
- Loop the E7 bar until the swing feels relaxed.
- Add the A7 bar and switch without dropping a beat.