Rhythm, swing

We have new Musician Basics Elective dates announced! New Ableton Live Core Skills! We have a Mixing Masterclass and an FX, Synth, Mix Primer. Get in touch and let’s find where your personal eighth note lives!

When you first begin to learn about rhythm, you’re taught to think like a metronome. But an eighth note is like a fingerprint, and yours is unique.

We often think of swing as something that jazz musicians do, but in the 80s, Roger Linn, who designed the Linn drums and MPC, defined the way electronic musicians conceptualize swing to this day.

Any swing value over 50% delays the second 16th note between 2 8th notes. At 66%, you are effectively dividing that space in thirds and playing a triplet.

Like most things in music, swing isn’t binary. It’s a continuum. Jazz musicians tend to cringe at the characterization of a swung eighth note being “cha-cha-cha cha-cha“. In fact, you’ll hear a lot of bebop where the eighth note is nearly straight.

Swing is complex and relies on phrasing and dynamics. And it’s roots lie in the African and afro-cuban syncopations that arose from forced migrations, and those traditions worked their way into the ears and hearts of American popular song. There’s a lot of heartbreak and a lot of joy packed into that sentence. But it’s impossible to reduce it to a simple percentage.

In practice, musicians also tend to either anticipate or delay some or all beats which can push the rhythm or give it a laid-back feel. In my experience, every person, every culture, and every generation owns its own concept of an eighth note. And there’s a special magic when musicians come to consensus together on where that eighth note lives.

Where is your eighth note? Let us know. And if you or someone you know wants to explore it in a Beat Kitchen class, share this post.

#MusicTheory #Rhythm #Swing

[ejayj]

Nice! Swing is almost more like something you have to ‘feel’