What is swing?

Swing is the character of how music moves; tempo is the cadence and swing is the gait.

If you think of soldiers marching – left, right, left, right – their left feet land in unison with a steady pulse. Their right feet land in unison halfway between the pulses.

Now let’s imagine the soldiers are tired, or walking with a limp – now their left feet still land in unison with the steady pulse, but their right feet are dragging behind. If the drag is consistent, then this is a perfect analogy for swing – notes that typically coincide with the tempo remain locked to the pulse, but other notes are shifted back from their standard position.

Many of us can recognize a loved one by their gait. Of course, if that person is walking faster or slower, we can still recognize them – their gait, not their pace, is the quality of their motion intrinsic to their identity.

The same is true with music – a song may be sped up or slowed down and it’s still the same song. In contrast, swing is a fundamental character of the song – if we change the swing, we fundamentally change the character, feel, and identity of the song.

Music theory has always provided a very analytical understanding of the tonal qualities of music, and the analysis is exact and numerical in nature. When we describe chords, we refer to the notes in the scale as numbers and we identify chords by these numbers. When we consider a musical element, we ask ‘what exactly is happening, and why does it make sense?’ – and music theory provides a clear answer when the musical element is tonal.

However, when the musical element is rhythmic swing, music theory doesn’t provide an exact and numerical analysis. It doesn’t provide a clear answer to the question ‘what exactly is happening, and why does it make sense?’. Considering that rhythm is absolutely fundamental to a song, I find it odd that music theory lacks a well-established provision for analyzing swing with the same degree of exactness as it does for analyzing tones and harmony.

My background with swing

The first drum machine came out around 1980, and I’ve been using them since 1996. Drum machines have generally always provided a numerical system for quantifying and managing swing, but in my opinion, no drum machine has provided a comprehensive solution. Drum machines have also provided a means to correct imperfect human performance timing and this is called quantizing.

A good cook understands that salt is fundamental not only to the meal, but fundamental to the cooking process. Salt is not an afterthought to be sprinkled on at the end; it’s instinctively applied from start to finish; it’s woven into the fabric of the meal. In fact, many meals begin with salt – the very first step is often salting.

To me, swing is like salt – I do not compose my songs in straight time and sprinkle swing on at the end – swing is inseparable from the composition; the song in my head is swung. I’m not a drummer – if I’m recording a performed drum beat, the beat already has swing and I need a quantizing system that can correct my timing errors while also preserving my swing. Many drum machines have that basic ability but those that do have problems.

However, many musicians and producers prefer to compose and produce in straight time and later transform the rhythm from straight to swung. A good system must allow such a transformation.

I used some DAWs in the late 90s and early 2000s, but didn’t come back to them until 2020. During the off years, I became very familiar with the quirks and shortcomings of various drum machines, and I developed an understanding of exactly why they failed to provide a comprehensive swing solution. I always imagined that when I came back to DAWs, my struggles would be over – surely the flagship DAWs would have solved these shortcomings.

It was a shock to learn that I was mistaken – none of the fundamental drum machine shortcomings were solved in DAWs, and in many examples, drum machines from 2008 were more capable than a flagship DAW from 2020. In Ableton, for example, there is no ability to correct timing errors while also preserving swing. I explored all the drumming plugins and virtual devices I could find and nowhere did I see the comprehensive solution I understood to be needed.

I set out to solve this problem and did so by developing a Max For Live transformation tool called Swingset – it’s a software add-in for Ableton Live.

How swing works in music

This video looks at the swing in 12 different drumbeats:

Here’s a great video about straight vs. swing feel in reggae drumming:

I highly recommend the following reads:

Ethan Hein Blog – Swing Primer

Roger Linn on Swing, Groove & The Magic of MPC’s Timing