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Jazz Rhythm Fundamentals

Jazz rhythm fundamentals are based around quarter notes and eighth note triplets. Quarter notes provide the steady pulse, while eighth note triplets subdivide each beat into three even partials to create a feeling of forward motion. "Swing eighth notes" are created by combining the first two partials of each triplet, giving two uneven attacks per beat. Notation simply writes standard eighth notes but indicates "swing feel." Quarter note triplets further subdivide each beat into six even attacks.

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191 views2 pages

Jazz Rhythm Fundamentals

Jazz rhythm fundamentals are based around quarter notes and eighth note triplets. Quarter notes provide the steady pulse, while eighth note triplets subdivide each beat into three even partials to create a feeling of forward motion. "Swing eighth notes" are created by combining the first two partials of each triplet, giving two uneven attacks per beat. Notation simply writes standard eighth notes but indicates "swing feel." Quarter note triplets further subdivide each beat into six even attacks.

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Jazz Rhythm Fundamentals

1. Quarter Notes: Quarter notes are the primary pulse of swing music and the predominant
rhythm found in walking bass lines. The primary rhythmic function of the bass player in swing
music is to provide a consistant quarter note pulse. A ryhthm guitarist can also provide this
support by playing chords with quarter note attacks. This is called "four to the bar" comping or
"Freddie Green" style comping.
1 2 3 4
4
&4 œ œ œ œ

2. Eighth Note Triplets: Eighth note triplets are the primary subdivision of the quarter note in
swing music, and the building blocks of "swing" eighth notes. Think of eighth note triplets as the
lowest common denominator of jazz rhythm. To create the eight note triplet, each quarter note
is divided into 3 equal parts, called partials. Although each partial is equal in duration, the total
number of divisions per beat is odd. This odd division creates a feeling of forward motion that
is responsible for the unique rhythmic feel of jazz.
1 2 3 4

& œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
3 3 3 3

3. Building Swing Eighth Notes: Swing eighths are created by combining the 1st and 2nd
partial into one attack. In the example below, the first two partials of each triplet have
been combined with a tie, leaving an attack on the 1st and 3rd partial. This is highlighted in
the example below by the accent above the 1st and 3rd partial of each beat. This changes the
number of attacks per beat from 3 to 2 and makes the length of the 1st attack twice as long as
the lenght of the second attack. The combination of the uneven triplet subdivision (3 partials)
and the uneven grouping of these partials (2:1 ratio) create what is called a "swing" eighth note.

1 2 3 4
>œ œ >œ >œ œ >œ >œ œ >œ >œ œ >œ
&
3 3 3 3

4. Notating Swing 8th Notes: Thankfully, we don't have to notate swing eights as a triplet derivitive.
The common practice is to notate swing eighth notes exactly the same as a traditional "even" eighth
notes. This avoids the complexity of writing triplets and ties. All you need to do is write "swing feel" or
"swing eighths" at the top of the music.
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &

& œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

Copyright © 2020 Chris Whiteman


www.ChrisWhitemanMusic.com
2

5. Quarter Note Triplets: These are the subdivision of the quarter note that create 6 even attacks
per measure. Here we are combining the partials in groups of 2. This results in the attacks falling
on every other partial creating 6 quarter note triplets.

1 2 3 4
> >œ >œ œ >œ >œ >œ
& œ œ œ œ œ œ
3 3 3 3

& œ œ œ œ œ œ
3 3

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