# AI Wiki - Music - Sixteenth-Note Rhythms ## Overview A sixteenth note is a quarter of a beat in 4/4. A bar holds sixteen of them, and most funk, disco, R&B, hip-hop and a lot of [[AI Wiki - Music - Pop Music|pop]] grooves are built by choosing which of those sixteen slots to play, accent or leave silent ([[AI Wiki - Music - Rhythm and Time Signatures]]). On guitar, sixteenths are where [[AI Wiki - Music - Strumming Patterns|strumming]] turns into funk; on piano, they are where [[AI Wiki - Music - Hand Independence|hand independence]] gets serious. ## Counting: 1 e & a The standard count, as Wikipedia gives it, is "1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a": the number on the beat, "&" on the eighth-note offbeat, "e" and "a" on the sixteenths in between. Syllable systems do the same job: in Takadimi, a beat of four sixteenths is "ta-ka-di-mi". The strumming hand follows the count without stopping: **down** on the numbers and the "&"s, **up** on every "e" and "a". This is the rule that makes sixteenths playable: every "e" and "a" is an upstroke, so accents on those positions are accented upstrokes. ```chords {title: Sixteenth count and strumming hand} {start_of_tab} Count 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a Hand D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U {end_of_tab} ``` ## Notating sixteenths Sixteenths have two beams (or two flags when alone). Within one beat, a handful of rhythm cells covers most music; learn to read and count them as units ([[AI Wiki - Music - Reading Standard Notation]]): | Cell (one beat) | Notes played on | Notation | |---|---|---| | Four sixteenths | 1 e & a | four notes, double beam | | Eighth + two sixteenths | 1 & a | eighth, then two sixteenths; single beam, second beam on the last two | | Two sixteenths + eighth | 1 e & | two sixteenths, then an eighth | | Dotted eighth + sixteenth | 1 a | the "long-short" cell | | Sixteenth + dotted eighth | 1 e | the "short-long" (Scotch snap) cell | | Sixteenth, eighth, sixteenth | 1 e a | syncopated: the "e" is held through the "&" | | Sixteenth rest + three sixteenths | e & a | starts after the beat | **Accents** are written with ">" above or below the note. A funk part with accents on "e" and "a" is usually notated as continuous sixteenths (or sixteenths with x-noteheads for muted strokes) and accent marks on the chosen notes. **Ghost notes** (very soft or muted) are written with x-noteheads or in brackets. Tab shows sixteenths only if it includes rhythm stems ([[AI Wiki - Music - Reading Guitar Tab]]); a text grid like the ones in this article is the quick way to write them down. ## Accents on "e" and "a": a practice sequence The hard part of a syncopated sixteenth groove is placing accents on the "e" and "a" without the hand stopping or the time drifting. Work through these one bar at a time, each four times in a row, with a metronome on quarter notes (start at 60 bpm; see [[AI Wiki - Music - Metronome and Speed Building]]). ```chords {title: Accent exercises (X = accent, x = muted scratch, . = hand moves but misses)} {start_of_tab} Count 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a Hand D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U a only . . . X . . . X . . . X . . . X e only . X . . . X . . . X . . . X . . Groove X . . X . X . . X . . X . X . . Funk X x x X x X x x X x x X x X x x {end_of_tab} ``` 1. **Count aloud** "1 e & a" with the click before touching the instrument. Clap only the X positions while counting. 2. **"a only" and "e only":** keep the hand moving in sixteenths and hit only the upstrokes on "a", then only on "e". If the hand stops, the timing falls apart. 3. **Groove:** accents on 1, the "a" of 1, the "e" of 2, 3, the "a" of 3 and the "e" of 4. Play it first with the other strokes missing the strings. 4. **Funk:** fill the gaps with muted scratches ([[AI Wiki - Music - Muting Techniques]]): fretting fingers rest on the strings, the hand strums all sixteen, the accents are the moments you press the chord down. 5. **Move the click to 2 and 4**, then record yourself and compare against the click ([[AI Wiki - Music - Recording Yourself]]). 6. Raise the tempo in small steps once four clean repetitions in a row are easy; the Music Practice speed trainer can step it up automatically. On piano or with a drum pad, the same exercises work with the left hand on quarter notes and the right hand playing the accent rows. ## Funk guitar: chicken scratch and constant motion [[AI Wiki - Music - Funk Music]] guitar is the textbook case of sixteenth-note playing: clean tone, small chord shapes on the top strings, and a hand that never stops. **Jimmy Nolen** (James Brown's guitarist from 1965) is credited with the "chicken scratch". Wikipedia describes strings "pressed lightly against the fingerboard and then quickly released" for a muted sound, with "rapid rhythmic strumming" near the bridge, and credits his "straight 16th note" strumming on "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" for shaping the style, using "two and three note chord voicings" of 9th and [[AI Wiki - Music - Seventh Chords|7th chords]]. **Nile Rodgers** (Chic) describes the same principle: his right hand would "continuously play sixteen notes to the bar" while the left hand fingered the chords. Bernard Edwards taught him to keep the hand "in one position and playing on sets of two or three strings"; Total Guitar's advice for his sound is to "hold down the full chord shapes and keep your strumming hand going up and down like a metronome regardless of whether you are going to strike the strings or not" (songs: "Le Freak", "Good Times", Daft Punk's "Get Lucky"). The two style exercises below are not transcriptions of any record (published transcriptions of the actual parts are in Total Guitar lessons and [[AI Wiki - Music - Transcription and Playing by Ear|transcription]] books); they apply each approach to an E9 or Em7 vamp. C = chord pressed down and released at once, x = muted scratch. ```chords {title: Style exercises: Nolen-style stabs and Rodgers-style constant chords} {start_of_tab} Nolen-style: short stabs, groups of three sixteenths then four (E9, top four strings) Count 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a Hand D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U Play C x x C x x C x x C x x C x x x Rodgers-style: most strokes ring, muted gaps make the accents (Em7, top three strings) Count 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a Hand D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U Play C C x C x C x C C C x C x C x C {end_of_tab} ``` The chord shapes (E9, E7♯9, D9) are in [[AI Wiki - Music - Funk Music]]. ## How much swing on funk sixteenths? Funk sixteenths are often slightly swung: the second sixteenth of each pair comes a little late, the same long-short idea as [[AI Wiki - Music - Swing and Shuffle Feel|swung eighths]], one level down. Two sources put numbers on it. **Drum machines.** Roger Linn, who designed the swing function of the LinnDrum and the Akai MPC, expresses swing as the share of an eighth note taken by its first sixteenth: "50% is no swing", "66% means perfect triplet swing". On straight sixteenth beats, "a swing setting of 54% will loosen up the feel without it sounding like swing", and the in-between settings up to about 70% are where grooves come alive. **Measured on records.** Patrick Ainsworth (2025) measured the drums on fourteen influential early funk tracks. Sixteenth-note swing "was found to be an element of every track investigated" except one made with a drum machine, and "the degrees of swing varied from imperceptible" to overt shuffles. None reached triplet swing. | Track (drums) | Measured ratio | Linn-style % | Heard as | |---|---|---|---| | James Brown, "Cold Sweat" | 1.07:1 | about 52% | straight to barely swung | | James Brown, "Funky Drummer" | 1.07:1 | about 52% | straight to barely swung | | The Meters, "Cissy Strut" | 1.3:1 | about 57% | just perceptible | | James Brown, "Funky President" | 1.6:1 | about 62% | clearly swung | | James Brown, "Papa Was Too" | 1.8:1 | about 64% | strong swing | | Triplet swing (reference) | 2:1 | 67% | shuffle | (The percentages are converted from Ainsworth's ratios: ratio ÷ (ratio + 1).) Ainsworth cites earlier work putting the threshold at which swing becomes audible at roughly 1.1:1 to 1.2:1. In practice: classic funk ranges from dead straight to clearly swung. Several of the measured grooves are barely swung (around 52%, felt more than heard); the clearly swung ones reach 62–64%. Learn the grooves straight first, then listen for the lean on each record and copy it. ## Sixteenths on piano and clavinet On keys, funk sixteenths are shared between the hands, the way a drummer shares them between sticks. Exercises that build the independence, from easiest: 1. **Left hand on the One, right hand on sixteenths.** Left hand plays a bass note on beat 1 (then on every beat), right hand plays continuous sixteenths on a chord with the accent rows above. Keyboard Magazine's rule for funk bass on keys: "make sure that the one, the first beat, is emphasised strongly." 2. **Split sixteenths.** Left hand on 1 and "&", right hand on "e" and "a", alternating like a drummer's hands; Roland's "Superstition" article notes that some drummers "alternate the sixteenths between the right and left hands". Then move accents to the right hand only. 3. **Question and answer.** Keyboard Magazine's exercise: one hand plays a short chord (a fourth or fifth), the other answers with a single-note phrase, and "each hand always plays on its own". Start with both inside one hand, then split them. 4. **Locked hand shape.** For clavinet, "imagine what a rhythm guitarist might play": over a C minor groove, keep the right hand on E♭–B♭–D (an E♭maj7 without G) and move the shape, playing sixteenth patterns. 5. **Left-hand bass alone.** Practise bass lines "with your right hand held behind your back" against a drum machine, then add the right hand back. 6. **"Superstition".** Ethan Hein's analysis: the tune is variations on a two-bar clavinet riff in E♭ minor [[AI Wiki - Music - Pentatonic Scale|pentatonic]], "just play the [[AI Wiki - Music - Piano Keyboard Layout|black keys]]", with notes landing "a sixteenth note early". Learn it hands separately, then with the left hand doubling the riff an octave down. ```chords {title: Piano split sixteenths, then right-hand accents over a left-hand pulse} {start_of_tab} Count 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a RH . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x LH x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . Count 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a RH x . . x . . x . x . . x . . x . LH x . . . x . . . x . . . x . . . {end_of_tab} ``` ```keyboard title: C minor groove: C3 bass (LH), clavinet shape Eb Bb D (RH) notes: C3 Eb4 Bb4 D5 range: C3-B5 ``` ```keyboard title: Eb minor pentatonic: the black keys ("Superstition") scale: Eb minor pentatonic labels: intervals ``` See also [[AI Wiki - Music - Left-Hand Accompaniment Patterns]] and [[AI Wiki - Music - Piano Voicings]]. ## Compound time: 6/8 strumming In 6/8 the beat divides in three instead of four: two beats per bar, counted "1 2 3 4 5 6" (Wikipedia also gives "One-and-ah-Two-and-ah"), accents on 1 and 4. Folk ballads, waltz-like songs and many slow [[AI Wiki - Music - Rock Music|rock songs]] use it ([[AI Wiki - Music - Folk Music]]). Song Notes lists, among others, "The House of the Rising Sun", "Hallelujah", "Can't Help Falling in Love" and "Tennessee Whiskey" as 6/8 songs. A small set of patterns covers most 6/8 ballads. Downs on the counts, ups on the "&"s between them: ```chords {title: 6/8 strumming patterns (D = accented down, d = light down, u = up, B = bass note, S = full strum)} {start_of_tab} Count 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 5 & 6 & A D . . . . . . . D . . . B D . d . d . D . d . d . C D . d . d u D . d . d u D D . d u d u D . d u d u E B . . . . . S . . . . . {end_of_tab} ``` - **A, strong beats only:** intros, very slow songs, and to learn the feel. - **B, six downs, accents on 1 and 4:** the default for slow ballads; it sounds full. - **C, up before each strong beat:** the most common filled-in version. - **D, near-continuous down-up flow:** faster or busier songs. - **E, bass–strum backbeat:** a bass note on 1, a full strum on 4; palm-mute the bass notes for a tighter sound. These five come from Song Notes' 6/8 lesson; in practice **B, C and E** (plus an arpeggiated pattern for fingerpicked songs, see [[AI Wiki - Music - Fingerpicking Patterns]]) cover most folk ballads. Count aloud and keep 1 and 4 louder than everything else. ## Common mistakes - **Stopping the hand.** Every missed stroke must still be a motion, or the upstrokes land on the wrong slots. - **Accenting with the wrist instead of the chord.** In funk, the accent comes from pressing the chord down; the strum stays even. - **Rushing the "a".** The "a" before a beat tends to drift towards the beat. Practise the "a only" row slowly. - **Adding swing before the straight version is solid.** Swing is a small lean, not a triplet. - **Counting 6/8 as 3/4.** 6/8 has two strong beats per bar (1 and 4), not three. ## Key Points - Count sixteenths "1 e & a"; strum down on numbers and "&", up on "e" and "a", without stopping. - Notation: double beams, a few one-beat cells (1 & a, 1 e &, 1 a, 1 e, 1 e a), accents with ">", ghost notes with x-noteheads. - Practise accents on "e" and "a" in stages: count and clap, single positions, groove, then muted fills, with the click on quarters and then on 2 and 4. - Funk guitar (Nolen, Rodgers): constant sixteenth motion, two- and three-note voicings, accents by pressing the chord, muted scratches in between. - Funk sixteenths range from straight to clearly swung: measured ratios from 1.07:1 to 1.8:1 on classic tracks; Linn's 54% loosens without audible swing. - Piano independence: left hand on the One, split sixteenths between hands, question-and-answer, locked clavinet shapes. - 6/8: accents on 1 and 4; all-downs, the up-before-the-beat pattern and bass–strum cover most ballads. ## Open Questions - Do the guitar and bass parts on classic funk records swing as much as the drums? Ainsworth measured drums only. - Which published transcriptions of Nolen's and Rodgers's parts are reliable enough to study note for note? ## References - Counting (music) — Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counting_(music) - Patrick Ainsworth, "Microtiming in Early Funk: A Microrhythmic Analysis of Fourteen Influential Funk Grooves", *Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft für Musiktheorie* 22/1 (2025): 123–173: https://www.gmth.de/zeitschrift/artikel/1224.aspx - Greg Scarth and Roger Linn, "Roger Linn on Swing, Groove & the Magic of the MPC's Timing", *Attack Magazine*, 2013: https://attackmagazine.com/?p=10694 - Jimmy Nolen — Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Nolen - Nile Rodgers — Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nile_Rodgers - Total Guitar, "Learn 5 Nile Rodgers funk guitar chords with our rhythm lesson", MusicRadar, 2021: https://www.musicradar.com/news/learn-5-nile-rodgers-funk-guitar-chords-with-our-rhythm-lesson - Keyboard Magazine, "How to funk-up your keyboard parts in 5 easy steps", MusicRadar, 2020: https://www.musicradar.com/how-to/how-to-funk-up-your-keyboard-parts-in-5-easy-steps - Clementine Moss, "Behind the Beat: 'Superstition' by Stevie Wonder", Roland Articles, 2024: https://articles.roland.com/behind-the-beat-superstition-by-stevie-wonder/ - Ethan Hein, "Musical Simples: Superstition", 2015: https://www.ethanhein.com/wp/2015/musical-simples-superstition/ - "Strumming Patterns in 6/8 Time", Song Notes, lesson 558: https://songnotes.net/lessons/558/ ## Related - [[AI Wiki - Music - Rhythm and Time Signatures]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Strumming Patterns]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Funk Music]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Swing and Shuffle Feel]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Muting Techniques]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Hand Independence]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Rhythmic Ear Training]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Metronome and Speed Building]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Folk Music]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Reggae Rhythm Guitar]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Metal Rhythm Guitar Techniques]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Motor Learning for Musicians]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Reggae Bass and Drums]]