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Topic: How to execute 16th notes during 8th note swing? (Read 4781 times) previous topic - next topic

How to execute 16th notes during 8th note swing?

Greetings,

How does one execute 16th notes in a piece of music
that has the indication that 8th notes are to be played
as "swing 8ths" ? And how would one accomplish this for
correct playback in NWC?

Thanks!

Re: How to execute 16th notes during 8th note swing?

Reply #1 –
My guess would be "played straight," but I may be mistaken. Try it both ways to see how it works best for the particular piece you're sequencing.

If you set a tempo track as described in https://forum.noteworthycomposer.com/?topic=2363 they will play "swung," depending on whether they occur on the downbeat or upbeat portion. (See also the other user tips linked to from that one.)

Re: How to execute 16th notes during 8th note swing?

Reply #2 –
The 16ths are played straight.  If they were to be played "swingy," they would be notated as dotted 16ths and 32nds (not a hard and fast rule, mind you).
I use the method described in https://forum.noteworthycomposer.com/?topic=2335 myself, as I have found that one to be the least complicated.
If your tempo (for example) is q=84, then after creating a tempo track as instructed in https://forum.noteworthycomposer.com/?topic=2335, simply place a new tempo mark [q=84] on the beat(s) that have the 16th notes.  Pretty easy.

Re: How to execute 16th notes during 8th note swing?

Reply #3 –
Thanks for the replies.  What if the melody
has 16th notes, but the accompaniment has
"swing 8ths"?  If I set the tempo as "straight"
during the 16th notes, the accompaniment part
will stop swinging.

Thanks again!

Re: How to execute 16th notes during 8th note swing?

Reply #4 –
Now things get harder...

The only way I can think of is to explicitly write the swing 8ths as a quarter and an 8th, tripletted together, whilst the straight 16ths are .. er.. straight. This will of course restrict you to the "default" swing ratio of 33%. (Other possibilities do exist; for instance, a dotted 1/8 and a 1/16, giving a rather frantic 25%, or 1/16 tied to dotted 1/16 and another dotted 1/16 (gives a more laid-back 37%).

If you want to keep the visual look of two 8ths, you'll have to write two staves; one sounded but hidden, the other visible but muted.
 

Re: How to execute 16th notes during 8th note swing?

Reply #5 –
Thanks for the tips!