Swing metronome – practice swung eighths and sixteenths
In jazz, blues, shuffle and many hip-hop grooves, pairs of eighth notes are not played evenly. The first note of each pair is longer, the second one shorter and later. This is called swing. grooph can swing any rhythm while the notation stays straight, exactly as swung music is usually written.
▶ Open a swing click at 120 BPM (triplet feel)
How much swing?
grooph describes swing as the share of the pair taken by the first note:
| Setting | Feel | Ratio |
|---|---|---|
| 50% | straight, no swing | 1:1 |
| 58–60% | light swing, common at fast tempos | about 3:2 |
| 66% | triplet swing, the classic jazz and shuffle feel | 2:1 |
| 75% | dotted, a hard shuffle | 3:1 |
Set the amount with the Swing field next to the tempo. You can swing eighth notes (jazz, blues, shuffle) or sixteenth notes (funk, hip-hop, neo-soul).
Hear the difference
The same written eighths, first straight, then swung:
4
4
Swing is most obvious on figures with offbeats:
4
4
Tips
- Swing depends on tempo. At slow tempos the triplet feel (66%) sounds natural; at fast tempos most players swing much less.
- Triplets stay triplets. grooph plays written triplets as written, also when swing is on – just like a band would.
- Feel it on two and four. Turn the metronome down in your head and imagine the hi-hat closing on beats two and four.
FAQ
Why is swung music written in straight eighths?
Writing every swung pair as a triplet would be hard to read. Musicians agree to read straight eighths and play them swung when the piece says "swing".
Is 66% swing the same as triplets?
Yes. At 66% the first note takes two thirds of the beat and the second one third, which is the rhythm of a quarter-and-eighth triplet.