How to Swing

Many blues and jazz songs are SWING style. These songs are either marked "swing" at the heading or have the sign:

This means that you should not divide each beat evenly with 8th notes, which is standard. Instead, the beats will be divided unevenly. The first part of each beat will last longer than the second part.

The "ON THE BEAT" eighth note will last for 2/3 of the beat. The "OFF THE BEAT" 8th note. will last 1/3 of the beat.

= The direction to "swing" a song affects the whole song. It will be heard in all the 8th notes, and in any accompaniment. Directions like "funky," "rock beat," or " " tells you that the 8th notes are to be played evenly.

Listening to recordings of jazz players can help clarify this concept.

The following song is an example of a tune played with swing style.

Highway 1