Swung note

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In music, a swung note or shuffle note is the rhythmic device in which the duration of the initial note in a pair is augmented and that of the second is diminished. This term for what is known as "notes inégales" has been in use in jazz music and its descendants.

A swing or shuffle rhythm is the rhythm produced by playing repeated pairs of notes in this way. Lilting can refer to swinging, but might also indicate syncopation or other subtle ways of interpreting and shaping musical time.

In some jazz music, especially of the big band era, there is a convention that pairs of written eighth notes are not played equally--as the notation would otherwise be understood--but with the first longer than the second. The first note of each of these pairs is often understood to be twice as long as the second, implying a quarter note-eighth note triplet feel, but in practice the difference is rarely that pronounced (see "amount of swing," below). This is an assumed convention of notation in many styles of jazz, but usually does not apply to jazz before the early 1930s, latin jazz, bebop, or to the work of composers writing in the 1950s or later, unless "swing" is specified in the score. Notes that are not swung are called straight notes.

Another important aspect of swung eighth notes is to slightly accent the "+" or second eighth note of each pair. In modern jazz where nearly even eighths has become common they still slightly accent every second eighth note of each pair to achieve a hint of swing. Latin musicians play straight eighths and will say they are "swinging" when they slightly accent the second eighth note of every even pair.

In dance, swing or shuffle time or rhythm is music whose meter is that of common time played with a swing. It may be written as simple time and played with a swing, or as compound time and played as written. See transcribing swing rhythms below.

See also swing (genre) for musical style, and swing (dance) for styles of dance.

Types

People sometimes indicate swing rhythms by marking their scores with an indication that pairs of eighth notes should be treated as a quarter and an eighth in a triplet bracket. However, swing rhythms range anywhere from slightly asymmetrical pairs to imbalances of a more pronounced sort (due to the mathematical nature of dividing one beat into 3 equal beats).

The subtler end of the range involves treating written pairs of eighth notes as slightly asymmetrical pairs of similar values. On the other end of the spectrum, the "dotted eighth - one sixteenth" rhythm, consists of a long note three times as long as the short. Prevalent "dotted rhythms" such as these in the rhythm section of dance bands in the mid 20th century are more accurately described as a "shuffle"; they are also an important feature of baroque dance and many other styles. Rhythms identified as swung notes most commonly fall somewhere between straight eighths and a quarter-eighth triplet pattern.

The following points of reference are reliable only as approximations of musical practice:

1:1 = eighth note + eighth note, "straight eighths."
$approx$ 3:2 = long eighth + short eighth, "swing" or "shuffle"
2:1 = triplet quarter note + triplet eighth, triple meter; "medium swing" or "medium shuffle"
3:1 = dotted eighth note + sixteenth note; "hard swing", or "hard shuffle"

Swing ratios tend to get get wider at slower tempos and narrower at faster tempos. Miles Davis varied his swing ratios, frequently delayed the first note of each pair of eighth notes by some milliseconds and then synchronized the second eighth note with the drummer's swing eighths being played on the cymbal. It is a common device to lay back or play behind the beat jazz melodies by some milliseconds. Quarter notes can sound swung when they are played slightly behind the beat, detached, and accented on the two and four. Or late on one and three, but closer to the beat on two and four. Phrases swing when they begin between the beats. similar to how straight eighths can swing when they are behind the beat which creates an asymmetrical cross rhythm.

Rhythm

In jazz, this interpretive device is assumed in most written music other than dixieland, latin jazz, jazz-funk (soul-jazz) and jazz-fusion and bebop, but may also be indicated. For example, "Satin Doll", a swing era jazz standard is normally interpreted with a pronounced swing rhythm. It was published written in 4/4 time, but at least some versions also note medium swing.

In dance music, swing rhythm generally refers to the meter of the music, rather than to this convention of notation, so any music played with the "near-triplet" timing (see above) and swing accent will be referred to as swing rhythm however they are written.

Styles

Swing is commonly used in blues, country, jazz, swing, and often in many other styles. Except for very fast jazz, slow ballads and latin jazz, much written music in jazz is assumed to be performed with a swing rhythm, although publishers sometimes specify "with a swing". In jazz and big band music, a shuffle is almost always accompanied by a distinctive cooking rhythm played on the ride cymbal or hi hat.

Styles that always use traditional (triplet) rhythms, resembling "hard swing," include:

Music for foxtrot, quickstep and some other ballroom dances.
Swing
Stride piano
Novelty piano

Styles that sometimes use swing rhythms include:

Early rock and roll such as Bill Haley's "Shake, Rattle and Roll" and "Rock Around the Clock", Buddy Holly's "That'll Be The Day", and Elvis Presley's "Jailhouse Rock".
Country and western
Blues, especially Jump blues
Big band
Modern rock, particularly punk rock, pop-punk, and alternative rock. Recent examples include "Holiday" by Green Day and "Tarantula" by Smashing Pumpkins
Ragtime

Transcription

In the swing era, swing meant accented triplets (shuffle rhythm), suitable for dancing. With the development of bebop and later jazz styles independent of dancing, the term was used for far more general timings. There is much debate over use of other ratios than 2:1 in swing rhythms.

Some publishers of jazz music, especially those whose intended audience is people unfamiliar with jazz styles, transcribe the swing either:

As compound time, such as 6/8, 9/8, or 12/8. When played with the swing accent, these time signatures may be grouped together and called swing time, or swing time can also mean a simple time played with the swing convention.
As triplets within a duple meter.

In general, where music with a swing meter is required, musicians in the jazz tradition will prefer to read music written in common time and played with a swing, while musicians in the classical tradition will prefer to read music written in compound time and played as written.

External links

Just Jazz Guitar Magazine Article (PDF) Aug 2003 Article is a look at swing timing, what we mean by swing and working on swing feel.

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Last updated on Tuesday February 19, 2008 at 22:21:04 PST (GMT -0800)
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