Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange
Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [swing]

Swing refers to a particular lilting rhythmic style that is based on a triplet subdivision of the beat.

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What is forward momentum?

I've heard the words "forward momentum" in different context referred to music but I couldn't find any definition for it (and it might very well be that it is used with different meaning in different places..). Here's three example: I was asking to…
Three Diag
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What is the correct way to realize this ambiguous swing notation?

I'm practicing a choral accompaniment on the piano, and it indicates swung 8ths. However, in some places the rhythm is notated as 3 eighth-note triplets, and in others, it uses 16th-16th-8th. Initially, I thought that these two rhythms would be…
John Alexander
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How do I make a song swing?

I've been trying to play some swing bass lines, and while technically I can play the swing feel (the 16th notes with some triplets), it doesn't sound like it's swinging. It sounds kinda boring and forced, like it doesn't come naturally to the ear.…
Shevliaskovic
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How to interpret in swing a 16th triplet followed by an 1/8 note?

So the combined 1/16 triplet and 1/8 note cover a quarter note. The question is does the 1/16 triplet cover a straight 1/8 note or does it cover the 1st two 1/8 notes of a set of an 1/8 triplet. So is the quarter note duration considered two…
Josiah Hoskins
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Metric Modulation: Length of 'swing' notes

I just exported a Piano score from Sibelius with a swing feel: I wanted to edit the MIDI in my DAW and noticed, that the notes actually weren't in a triplet duration. The second note was always off the triplet grid: So I went back to Sibelius and…
Andy
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How does 6/8 meter in jazz compare to eight-note swing in duple meter?

The usual example of eighth-note swing in jazz... ...skipping rhythm in 6/8... ...is there any difference in how these are executed rhythmically? ...is the eight-note in swing a little bit longer than in straight 6/8?
Michael Curtis
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Should I use 16th notes or triplets in swing rhythm?

I understand that in swing time, a pair of quavers should be played with a ratio of roughly 2-1 (up to 3-1), making it sound like a crotchet followed by a quaver. But if I want to split the first note into 2, giving a ratio of 1-1-1 (up to…
Djzin
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Notate swing for the treble staff only?

First a general question: I'm arranging a ragtime piece and would like to know if you generally play rags with swing in the melody or not? In my case I'll go with swing anyways, because in this piece it sounds a lot better with swing than without,…
Andy
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Music sheet says "in time, swing feeling", how many bpm is that?

I'm learning one jazz piece for piano. On the introduction part music sheet says "Slowly and freely, straight 8ths", once intro is done and main part begins, it says "In time, swing feeling". I'm confused by this "In time" thing. I'd assume, it's…
edio
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Common reasons for poor drummer swing feel?

I'm a jazz pianist who frequently plays with a drummer who can't swing. The thing is, I just can't figure out why. He seems to be going through the correct motions. Even when I ask him to play simply, focusing only on the ride and hi-hats, it still…
qce88
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Teaching others how to swing

In a couple of jams I've been in recently there are players who play swing and jazz music but who play it as straight-eighths. Worse, they try to correct the other players who are swinging the beat because they hear it as unsteady. What is a…
empty
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Understanding swing rhythm

It's my first time trying to learn something with a swing rhythm. I believe I understand how to play four consecutive 16th notes with swing, but how am I supposed to play the highlighted parts in measure 7? My current guess is that I perceive the…
tsooch
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Swing feel - are triplets and 8th note notations rhythmically the same?

I'm going through some exercises in a blues piano book[*]. I've noticed that some rhythms are written with triplets (with an 8th note (quaver) rest in the middle), and others are written using 8th notes. While any exercise can be played straight or…
Mike Hildner
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Swinging eighths on the piano

When I play jazz on the saxophone, I use a technique I was taught called "Jazz Articulation" (I'm sure that's not its only name) which is basically an articulation where you slur every other note with a tongue in between while playing straight…
SirPython
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Spud Murphy tune calls for "Red Mute" on trumpet and trombone parts

In my 25 years of playing, I've never heard of a "red mute". Any ideas? My bandleader said it meant a cup, but later in the song, it had us use plungers while still muted (the notation was pretty explicit), so I don't think cup is the right…
Spivonious
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