Swing time alternately stretches and shrinks the two halves of each beat

In ‘swing time’, beats are divided unequally: the first half of each beat (the ‘downswing’) is longer and the second half (the ‘upswing’) is shorter, or vice versa depending on the style. This creates the characteristic lilt or bounce of swing, shuffle, and dotted-note feels. The degree of swing varies from a gentle 52/48 ratio to a hard 2:1 (triplet feel). ‘Straight time’ by contrast divides each beat into equal halves (50/50). Swing is applied uniformly across a groove; it is this uniformity that distinguishes it from Dilla time, which mixes different swing ratios or straight/swung feels across different parts of the arrangement simultaneously.

Examples

Duke Ellington big-band tracks: swing time. A 4/4 techno kick: straight time. In DAWs, a ‘swing’ knob at 67% applies a 2:1 ratio to every off-beat sixteenth note.

Assessment

If a DAW’s swing parameter is set to 50%, what is the note division feel (straight or swung)? At 67%? How does this differ from Dilla time?