Theory
It's the final day of Week 3. The three spots you moved around this week — today you finish them into one 12-bar shuffle line. Start at I(E7), go around IV(A7) and V(B7), then back home — at last a whole blues lap lands in your hands. The single open E note from the first day of Shuffle & Bounce has grown into a twelve-bar line.
The piece to pin is the boogie move (E7→A7), two measures. Measure 1 is E7 (root on the 4th string), measure 2 is A7 (root on the 3rd string) — just the same boogie shape moved up one string. This move is the seed of the whole 12 bars. Once these two measures are smooth, every other move unfolds naturally by the very same principle.
Spread that move across twelve spots and it becomes the 12-bar shuffle line. | E7 | A7 | E7 | E7 | … follow the order, move the boogie shape, and one lap rolls around without stopping. The last row, where B7 appears, is the knot of the lap. Pass that knot and return to E7, and the tune naturally links back to its beginning.
Metronome 80 is this week's target, but before the number, an unbroken flow comes first. A lap that turns smoothly at 70 beats one that stutters at 80. Keep the flow alive and the speed follows on its own later. On a 5-string the fingering is the same; just rest the low B. Finish Week 3 with a smile — a single staircase has become a whole lap of a song.
See it
Today has two parts. First lock this week's pinned piece, the boogie move (E7→A7), then pass through the 12-bar shuffle line that spreads that move out. Each example comes in both a 4-string and a 5-string version.
First, this week's pin, the boogie move (E7→A7). From measure 1 (E7) to measure 2 (A7), the same shape moves up one string.
▶ BPM 80, shuffle. Measure 1 E7 (root on 4th string), measure 2 A7 (root on 3rd string) — the same boogie shape moved up one string. B7 uses the same shape from the 3rd-string, 2nd-fret root.
▶ 5-string. Same notes and spots as the 4-string. Cover the low B with the thumb, or test a heavier version with a B root.
Now the 12-bar shuffle line that spreads that move across twelve spots. Following the I-IV-V order, move the boogie shape and pass through one lap without stopping.
▶ BPM 80, shuffle. Moving the boogie staircase as is across the E7·A7·B7 spots fills all twelve measures. The last row's B7 is the knot of the lap.
▶ 5-string. Same notes and spots as the 4-string. Cover the low B with the thumb so it doesn't leak.
Today's practice
0–10 min · Warm-up Roll this week's three boogies in E·A·B order at BPM 60 to loosen up. Check all three spots come out.
10–20 min · Brain training Retrace the boogie move (E7→A7) very slowly. Check whether the seam where the root crosses from the 4th string to the 3rd is smooth.
20–40 min · Real play (this week's piece) Repeat the pinned 12-bar shuffle line at BPM 80. The goal is one lap that turns without stopping even as the chords change. Learn it on the 4-string, then confirm on the 5-string.
40–50 min · Record/feedback Record 30 seconds and listen for whether the 12 bars stay unbroken at BPM 80. Note the BPM you reached this week.
Done when: you can move the boogie shape in I-IV-V order and pass through one lap of the 12-bar shuffle line at BPM 80 without stopping, on both a 4-string and a 5-string. (Week 3 complete!)
- The last row tangles. The B7-A7-E7-B7 order is easy to mix up. Split it into three groups and carve the order into your body.
- It breaks at 80. Raising the tempo makes the change come late. Turn smoothly at 70 first, then raise it slowly.
- The long-short goes flat at the change. It's easy to lose the shuffle feel in the measure where a chord changes. Keep the front note long even at the seam.
- Neglecting low B (5-string). Keep the unused low string covered with the thumb through the whole lap.