Partial quantization moves notes toward the grid by a percentage, preserving human timing

Full quantization snaps every note to the nearest 16th-note grid position, eliminating timing variation. Partial (percentage) quantization moves each note only partway: 50% quantization moves a note halfway between where it was played and where the grid says it should be. This controls the trade-off between tightness and feel: 100% produces a rigid, mechanical result; 0% leaves the original performance untouched; 60-70% is a common starting point for genres that value human feel. The key insight is that quantization is a continuous dial, not a binary switch, and the right percentage is genre- and taste-dependent.

Examples

Finger-drum a two-bar pattern. Apply 100%, 75%, and 50% quantization to three duplicates. At 100% the timing is identical every bar; at 50% you can still hear the human push-and-pull.

Assessment

Explain why 50% quantization preserves more timing variation than 100%. Given a lo-fi hip-hop context, predict whether you would set quantization closer to 50% or 100%, and why.