Swing eighths: Confusing notation?!

Swing Eighths: Confusion about how to notate Swing Eighths in Jazz…

Ugh! Swing eighths! Have you ever been confused by Jazz notation when it comes to eighth notes played in swing style?

In jazz songs, you may see this notation written at the beginning of a jazz song:

What’s confusing (maybe only to classical players or rhythm perfectionists), is when you see (in the same song) this rhythm:

So here’s the BIG QUESTION: Do you play these two rhythms the same, or is there a difference? Why did they change the notation mid-song unless they wanted you to suddenly be more precise in the rhythm? Is there a secret jazz code that they don’t want us classical players to know about?

OK, so that was three questions.

In Conversation with Erik Samuel

When I have any jazz topics and questions to work through, Erik Samuel is my go-to-jazz guy. Erik is currently studying Jazz at Humber College in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Erik Samuel on Interpreting Jazz Notation

1) Do jazz players make a difference between pairs of eighths marked as swing eighths and dotted eighth/sixteenth rhythms?

Erik Samuel: Depends on who writes the chart. Most charts in jazz will default to a swung 8th feel no matter what, but some of the older stuff wrote swung notes in dotted 8th/16th rhythms.

It’s pretty safe to assume that if the chart has swung 8ths and out of nowhere you see a dotted 8th/16th that the rhythm should probably be as notated, but if the entire thing is written like that, it could just be that that’s the way a particular writer writes his/her swing. Some people wrote passages in dotted 8ths/16ths to emphasize the swing, but rarely will the feel shift completely from swing to funky 8ths.

2) How does tempo affect these rhythms?

Erik Samuel: The slower something is, the more likely written rhythmic changes are significant. Whereas if you’re playing a bebop thing, it’s 99.9999% of the time just pure swing.

3) What sort of things should jazz pianists be practising if they want to play like Oscar Peterson?

Erik Samuel: We’ve got a Functional Keyboard class at school where we have to be able to do all the modes of major and jazz minor, play rootless voicings, walk basslines and improvise over top, and read leadsheets. Tell your students that they have to be able to do all that to get into jazz school and you’ll have Oscar Peterson minis in no time!

…Or you know, maybe just a lot of drop outs ;D

4) What’s with the differences in notation?!

Erik Samuel: Obviously jazz music wasn’t usually written down, so let your ear be your guide… if it sounds right, it probably is. And in the spirit of jazz, half of these can be improvised anyway. It’s not music that’s meant to be played note-for-note. So just let your instincts tell you what to play.

5) To swing or not to swing?

Erik Samuel: So the short answer is:
Always swing eighths unless you have a really good reason not to.

If you want to hear more from Erik Samuel, check out his facebook page at facebook.com/eriksdrums

Thanks Erik!

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