RHYTHM ROOST Swing in 7
Keen on all things rhythmic, Jason Sidwell fuses triplet based 7/4 time and 6th intervals for this month’s reggae tinged example.
Learm some reggae flavoured ideas in 7/4 with Jason Sidwell’s new series on playing rhythm.
Welcome to the most rousing rhythm in the series so far! With a 7/4 time signature (seven beats in the bar) the feel is not as typically safe as 4/4. But that doesn’t mean it can’t prove infectious for audiences; each bar is long enough to provide steady phrasing with just a little ‘hiccup’ when the next bar starts. This hiccup is the sense of being robbed of beat 8 but after a few bars, the groove’s strong rhythmic logic isn’t difficult to feel both for performing or dancing to. To enhance the 7/4 time, the guitar part has an eighth-note note triplet rhythm (hence ‘swing’ in the title) with offbeats that conjure up reggae - think Stevie Wonder’s triplet reggae vibe on Master Blaster. The picking hand uses a mainly up-pick approach for the 6ths, to enhance the sense of reggae. Listen to the track, get a sense of the triplet feel, learn the 6ths so you can navigate the fretboard easily, then see if the up-strokes work for you.
The last two bars of the four-bar phrase feature five-string barre chords (Fmaj7, Em7, Dm7) with an ear-catching legato flutter during Em7. Think Cornell Dupree, Prince’s Mike Scott or gospel great Isaiah Sharkey here. For the ending there’s the ‘Gospel V’ at work, softening C Major’s G chord (C’s V chord) by putting F (C’s IV chord) on top of the G bass note. F/G is a great alternative to G7 and loved by Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder and Donald Fagen. Check out the picking for this chord; it provides dynamic punch but may prove tricky to adopt initially. I really enjoyed creating this so I hope you love playing it, too!