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Swing delays every other 16th note by a set proportion, with 50% meaning straight timing

Concept L1Foundations A · Music theory & musicianship F · Live coding: music N · Tools & free/open software stack E · Modular, Eurorack, grooveboxes & dawless

Swing is a systematic, perfectly repeating timing offset: every second (even-numbered) subdivision — the ‘e’ and ‘ah’ 16th positions — is delayed, while the main downbeats stay quantized to the grid. The amount is expressed as a percentage giving the proportion of each two-note window the first note occupies. In the Roger Linn / Logic convention, 50% is straight (both 16ths equal); higher values push the off-beat later, so it moves toward the next beat; 66% is perfect triplet swing (first note gets 2/3, second gets 1/3). The most expressive ‘groove’ territory lies roughly between 50% and 70% — e.g. 54% loosens straight 16ths without sounding overtly swung, 58% adds a heavier shuffle. The effect is groove without imprecision, and it converts a mechanical grid into a loping long-short feel. A common misconception is that higher swing always feels groovier: the optimal ratio is tempo- and pattern-dependent (62% at 90 BPM can groove better than 66%). Swing is distinct from jazz swing as a feel; ‘shuffle’ is an older name for the same function.

Examples

Logic 16A-16F ≈ 50%, 54%, 58%, 62%, 66%, 71%. On a 4/4 house pattern: 50% = robotic/straight, 54-58% = pocket/light bounce, 66% = triplet shuffle, ~71% = heavy triplet feel. Practically: duplicate a pattern four times, apply 50/53/56/60% swing, and A/B against a reference to find the feel. In milliseconds, off-beats are delayed roughly 5-20ms.

Assessment

At what swing percentage is a pattern perfectly straight, and what does 66% correspond to rhythmically? Explain how the off-beat 16ths are affected at 58%, why 62% might groove better than 66% at 90 BPM, and name one genre where swing is deliberately avoided and why.

Prerequisites — understand these first

Don't confuse with

Sources

“Those percentages pertain to the degree that every second 16th note is positioned in relation to the beats either side of it. So 50% swing refers to straight timing, where every second step is played exactly half way between the two beats either side of it.”

corpus · daw-and-drum-machine-swing-attack-magazine-passing-notes · chunk 2

“We can add a bit of programmed "swing" to enhance the groove. This will keep the whole notes and quarter notes quantized to the grid, but shift everything slightly later.”

corpus · drum-programming-101-how-to-program-your-drums-native-instru · chunk 5

“swing delays every other 16th note by a small amount — pushing it later in time. The result is a lopsided rhythm that creates forward motion and a sense of “pull.””

corpus · drum-programming-beat-kitchen-electronic-music-guide-ch-03 · chunk 1

“swing involves delaying the second of each pair of beats in a rhythm to create a loping _long-short, long-short_ feel”

corpus · native-instruments-what-is-swing-in-music-production · chunk 1

“50% is no swing, meaning that both 16th notes within each 8th note are given equal timing. And 66% means perfect _triplet_ swing, meaning that the first 16th note of each pair gets 2/3 of the time”

corpus · roger-linn-on-swing-groove-and-the-magic-of-the-mpc-s-timing · chunk 1

Taught in modules

Swing, Humanization and Finding the Pocket

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