Swing Rhythms
A swing rhythm is created by tying together the first two notes of a triplet. There are several different ways of writing swing rhythms. To understand them it is worth using one musical example written in various ways. The following example has the first and second notes of the triplet group tied together. Play this example and listen to the feeling created by the rhythm.
Instead of tying the first two notes of the triplet group, a quarter note grouped with an eighth note by a triplet bracket can be used.
A third way to write the same rhythm is to notate the whole thing in eighth notes and to write 6 = z at the start of the music.
This final song contains both swing eighth notes and triplets. If you like this style of playing, you might enjoy learning to play the Saxophone, Trumpet or Clarinet, which are all commonly used in Jazz and Blues.
