Swing Rhythm on Piano FINALLY Makes Sense! (All Levels)

[00:00:03][music] Hey piano friends. So let's talk about swing music. This is something that whether you are a beginner level piano player, an intermediate level or an advanced level, you need to be able to understand what it is, how it feels, and how a song could live in both a swing type of fill and not in a swing type of fill. and I'm going to show you a famous example of it. So, let's dive in to swing music on the piano. First off, let me introduce myself really fast if you don't know me. Hi, my name is Matt Hodgej. And for over 15 years, I have been a music professor, a professional piano player, and a private piano coach.

[00:00:44]And I love helping people just like you on their piano journey, no matter their age, experience level, or what type of music you like to play. Now, I have a free download for you if you haven't downloaded it in a previous video of mine. It's called My Ultimate Intro Guide to Piano, and it's a 40-page free PDF book that I made just for you, my YouTube audience. And I give you so much helpful information in there about chords and rhythms and chord progressions and scales and colorful charts and colorful diagrams and key signatures and everything you need to either jumpstart your piano journey if you're brand new to piano or to deepen your piano journey if you've already started to learn how to play. You can download it at the video description box below. Link is down there. Okay. Swing music is all about a type of fill and a type of rhythm. You might have noticed on sheet music, you might see something like this. It says the word swing and it may even have this in parenthesis. Two eighth notes equals and then this funny rhythm, right? If it looks sort of over your head, I'm going to explain it to you. It looks like a quarter note with an eighth note with a three over it. So, what does that mean? And in general, why should you care about swing? Like I said, whatever level you're at, beginner, intermediate, or advanced, you are going to come across music that you want to play that might need a swing fill. That happens a lot in jazz, for example, right? So, what is the difference between swing and not swing?

[00:02:03]The reason they give you this little diagram is because not having swing means notes are steady. So, for example, when we describe swing music, we often use this image of two eighth notes equal blank. Now, why would we do that?

[00:02:18]>> [music] >> Let's say we are in 44 time signature which would which is the most common time signature in music which just means we have four beats. All right. So here's our beat. 1 2 3 4. Well in without swing just normal type of fill two eighth notes would equal one beat. So if you don't know two eighth notes you usually go into what we call a quarter note which in four four time is one beat. So normal that would be two eighth notes that are even. Meaning if this is my beat, then if this hand is my eighth notes and I get two per beat.

[00:02:58]Do you hear how they're even? There's two even notes per beat. Swing is going to change that.

[00:03:06]swing is going to make this rhythm which in essence makes it instead of two evens which would be like this where this is my beat [music] and this hand is playing chords.

[00:03:21][music] You see how the the eighth notes are even swing is going to ask you to make it sound like this.

[00:03:34]>> [music] >> Can you hear the difference? It takes it from even two even notes [music] to this type of groove, which basically is going to sound like an alternating between long and short.

[00:03:57]Long, short, long, short, long, short, long, [music] short, long, short, long, short, long. Da da da da daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

[00:04:09]So if this is the beat, no swing. All right. Steady eighth notes.

[00:04:20]Now with swing.

[00:04:28]Yeah. Do you like how I do my chest so much? My clients and students like to call me Tarzan because I'm always doing this on my chest. So really fast, if you want to know like how do we get there?

[00:04:38]What's the theory of this thing? Well, if two eighth notes equal one beat, there is something called a triplet.

[00:04:44]This is where we had the little three over it. In theory, a triplet means you now are trying to have three notes, three even notes in the space that there normally would be two of those notes.

[00:04:55]So, for example, three eighth notes as a triplet. So, a triplet of three eighth notes. How can I play all three three eighth notes that are a triplet fill in the same amount of beats as two eighth notes normally would? So if we just said two eighth notes would be one beat. If we're in four four time, then instead of having two normal eighth notes, 1 2 1 2 1 2, a triplet would ask you to have three, 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 in the same space. Now, a swing is going to ask you to instead of having three, the three notes of a triplet, it's going to ask you to combine the first two.

[00:05:35]Doesn't it look like I'm making like a Star Trek type of sign? Ask you to combine two. So instead of two eighth, instead of three eighth notes, you'll have two eighth notes combined which make a quarter and then the eighth. And when you put that as part of that triplet fill, you get da da da da da da da. So yes, that is the theory of it.

[00:05:55]That's why we draw it in sheet music a lot of times as e two eighth notes equals quarter eighth with a triplet.

[00:06:02]But a lot of people that's just that's complicated theory that goes over their head. Just view it as longs and shorts.

[00:06:10]Long, short, long, short, long. The long is going to come first. Long, short, long. So if I'm doing this for example, if I'm putting eighth notes in my right hand and I don't have it as as swing, if this is my beat, then no swing.

[00:06:40][music] Can you hear how it's all even now?

[00:06:45]I'm going to make it swing.

[00:06:54][music] Yeah.

[00:07:02]So long D. [music and singing] It's kind of like a shuffle fun groove, right? Da da da da da da da da. Now, let me show you a real example of where this can come into play.

[00:07:17]Here is a really famous jazz standard, jazz classic, in a sentimental mood.

[00:07:22]Now, this is a great song to show you the difference between the two because as a professional piano player, I've been asked to play this song many, many times in gigs and concerts and studio and whatnot. However, people sometimes argue and debate about what type of feel do they want on this. Now notice this lead sheet doesn't have the word swing.

[00:07:43]It doesn't have swing parentheses two eighth notes equals quarter eighth triplet. It doesn't have all of that. It just says ballad. [laughter] Right now sometimes people like to play in a sentimental mood with no swing.

[00:07:57]Sometimes people like to play it with swing. I have done it so many ways and and I usually ask when I'm asked to play it, do you want it swung or not? Do you want the swing full or not? because it's famous for having a swing fill, but it's also famous, it's played a lot with not a swing fill, but it completely changes the the groove of the song, what it feels like. So, if we were to have no swing, no swing fill it, this opening of eighth notes, [music] all these eighth notes that start the song, well, if it's not swing, then eighth notes are even. So, it would be this is our beat. da da da da da da da.

[00:08:39]Yeah. So, two eighth notes, two even notes per beat.

[00:08:45]So, then even when I'm filling in, so like the next melody note is just a whole note and I, you know, improvise and fill in chords, I need to keep that groove. So, that feel of da da [music] da da da da. I need to kind of have that as the spirit of the groove.

[00:09:04]>> [music] [music] >> Yeah. If there is swing, that totally changes it, right? Also, there's an airplane flying over. If you hear that, that's what that sound is. If it's swung, now it's not even eighth notes.

[00:09:30]It's swung. So it's going to be the long short long short long short short [music] totally different groove right versus so now if I am playing it with a swing fill everything I play needs to have that kind of shuffle at the the heart of it.

[00:09:52]Yeah.

[00:10:00][music] [music] Totally different feel. Same song, same chord, same beauty to it, but totally different feel. So swing can change drastically how something feels. it can give it more of that shuffle, more of that jazzy feel. And sometimes it'll tell you to play that. So if you see a song, any song you're playing, and it says swing at the top, then you have to give it that swing feel, that du du du du du du du du not du du du du du du du.

[00:10:37][snorts] Then sometimes it may not, but you may have heard it swung and you want to give it a swing. That's what it is.

[00:10:44]Both are beautiful, but very very different, right? Totally different to go [music] [music] versus [music] [music] Both beautiful but totally different. So now I want to turn it over to you. Let me know in the comment section. Have you tried playing a song before that said swing or you tried to play it with a swing swing fill? Do you like swing?

[00:11:31]Have you tried it? If not, try it.

[00:11:33]Right? Just choose choose just play eighth notes, right?

[00:11:38]And just practice swinging them.

[00:11:42]Yeah, it's all about finding that fun group. So, chat with me in the comments below. I want to hear from you. I read every comment. I try to reply to every comment. So, chat with me down there.

[00:11:50]Also, don't forget to look in the video description box below for that link to download my ultimate intro guide to piano, my free book for you. It's going to be totally [music] great to help you on your piano journey.

[00:11:59]PDF downloadable link below. And while you're down there in that video description box below, you'll see another link and it's to my website, mattagemusic.com.

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