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Topic: How to play 16th notes over 8th note swung feel  (Read 8342 times)

Offline honestiron

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How to play 16th notes over 8th note swung feel
on: April 18, 2012, 04:05:51 PM
I'm learning this piece and came across an interesting measure which I'm not sure how to play. It's a slow piece, about 68bpm with an 8th note swing feel in 3/4 time. Here is the measure:
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Of course, the left hand is playing the 8th notes with a swing feel, but the 16th notes in the right should be played in straight time, correct? In MuseScore I slowed the song down to 32bpm for a closer listen. At that speed, it is perceptible to hear that the 3rd 16th note from beat one is played right before the second 8th note in the left hand, which makes sense since it is a longer interval between the two 8th notes. But when played at the original tempo those two notes sound like they're played at the same time.

Can anyone share their technique for playing a measure like this? Or can explain what's going on better? Thanks!

I've been playing guitar for over 10 years (and piano for about one) but never had any formal training.

Offline 49410enrique

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Re: How to play 16th notes over 8th note swung feel
Reply #1 on: April 18, 2012, 05:00:15 PM
i'd explore two options, then honestly just go with you you feel better, it's probably a matter of taste between the two

1. look at playing the 3 16ths note with the dotted 8th (which is essentially what swing feel indicates only a different way of writting it), then just play the 4th 16th note with the 2nd note of the swing 8th (which in rhythm is a 16th). if i were playing kapustin or something like that, i think it would most likely be written out explicitly this way

2.  consider getting the 16ths in a 'groove', and stretch the two first 16ths notes to fit with the first 8th, then feel the final two 16ths as 32nd notes  to play against the 2nd 8th

i think the call will most likely depend on the context of the passage and what else is happening musically. i was always taught we make these kinds of decisions for musical reasons and not for technical ones (i.e. what we 'can' do), it's hard to make a musical judgement with no context whatsoever.

i think if the tempo's fast enough the first option will work best, the 2nd one is more interesting to the ear but the effect is minimized by going at a faster clip

Offline nystul

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Re: How to play 16th notes over 8th note swung feel
Reply #2 on: April 18, 2012, 08:57:19 PM
What piece is this?  It it possible that this is a 4 vs. 3 situation where the sixteenth notes are not meant to line up with the eighth notes.  I can't jump to that conclusion based on just the one measure though.  There could be more or less swing than the typical shuffle pattern depending on the style of the piece.
 

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