swing feel
A rhythmic approach where pairs of eighth notes are played unevenly, with the first note longer than the second.
In Depth
Swing feel is the rhythmic foundation of jazz, giving the music its characteristic lilt and forward momentum. Instead of even eighth notes, the first note of each pair is held approximately two-thirds of the beat and the second note one-third, creating a long-short pattern similar to a triplet with the first two notes tied. The degree of swing varies from a gentle lilt to a hard, exaggerated shuffle depending on tempo, style, and personal feel.
Duke Ellington famously said It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing, and he was right: swing feel is what separates jazz from classical musicians reading the same notes.