Feel the Swing—Unlock the Secrets to This Essential Rhythmic Technique

In the late 1930s, 16-year-old Barney Kessel met his musical hero, swing guitar legend Charlie Christian. When Kessel asked Christian for advice, Christian said, “The main thing is to concentrate on swing first. Then, if you can make some interesting harmony after you know how to swing, that’s fine. But to begin with, swing alone is enough to get you by.” Evidently, Kessel took Christian’s advice, as he went on to become a jazz guitar legend in his own right. But what did Christian mean by swing?

When I first started playing swing music, I learned many Django Reinhardt solos note for note. I struggled to learn all the notes and put them in the correct order, but even though I played the correct notes, it sounded stiff. It wasn’t until I loosened up my eighth notes and understood the swing eighth note that the lightbulb went off. This lesson will get you on the right track to developing a swing feel in both your single-note soloing and chordal quarter-note strumming accompaniment. This approach applies to all music that swings, from blues to R&B to funk and even bluegrass. 

Start with the Eighth Note

Getting a basic swing feel starts with the eighth note—exactly half the duration of a quarter note, with the quarter note taking up the entire space between two beats. If there are two eighth notes and the first is placed on the beat, the second would occur exactly halfway between that note and the next beat. These are referred to as straight eighth notes. However, the space between two beats can also be divided into unequal parts. I like to think of a swing subdivision as being loosely divided into three parts, much like a triplet. For swing eighth notes, the eighth note (or rest) on the beat receives two-thirds of the duration, and the second eighth note receives one-third. This gives the pair an uneven or lilting feel.

In notation, swing eighth notes are indicated like this:

Subdivide in Triplets

Start by tapping your foot at a slower tempo, then subdivide the space between your foot taps into thirds by repeatedly saying “trip-a-let, trip-a-let” out loud. (You can say anything with three syllables as long as they are spaced equally.) Tap your hand along with the vocalization of “trip-a-let.” At this point, you should be making three sounds per beat. 

Next, omit the middle beat so you are tapping on the first (trip) and the third (let). Stop counting out loud but continue tapping your hand and foot, and voilà—a swing eighth note. Try it out at different tempos.

Add Some Notes

Start with a one-octave C major (or any other) scale in any position. First, play the scale as quarter notes, ascending and descending. Be sure to repeat the top note before descending. Then, while tapping your foot and counting the subdivision, play the scale using swing eighths. Again, think “trip-a-let” as you play, placing a note on trip and let while omitting the middle a. Continue thinking or speaking the subdivision out loud until it becomes a feel. 

Test your sense of swing by switching between straight and swing eighths. Start by counting yourself in with a swing feel: “1-and, 2-and, 3-and, 4-and,” maintaining the triplet subdivision. Play the scale, and when you return to your starting note, stop. Now, count yourself in with straight eighth notes: “1-and, 2-and, 3-and, 4-and,” keeping the ands exactly halfway. Once both approaches feel comfortable, try them back to back without stopping. Knowing the difference reinforces what constitutes a swing eighth note and what doesn’t.

Now take any familiar melody and play it both ways. You will immediately notice how different the two approaches sound and feel. Then, try the melody of a composition like Django Reinhardt’s “Nuages” with both swing and straight eighth notes.

Add Syncopation

One of the more challenging aspects of maintaining a swing feel is when an eighth rest occurs on the beat and is followed by an eighth note. Think of the rest as playing silence. Maintain the same two-thirds duration for the rest as you would for the note. Practice this by playing a measure of eighth notes, followed by a bar of an eighth rest and an eighth note before switching back. Once this becomes comfortable, improvise a phrase starting on the and instead of the beat. The and of 3 is a great place to start.

Swing Your Quarter Notes

Four-to-the-bar rhythm is often written as four quarter notes, yet there is a rest between the quarter notes that should be considered and measured. Use the same subdivision as for swing eighth notes to make the quarter notes swing. 

Play a chord and strum it for four beats. Then, play it as a triplet (three chords per beat). Next, tie the first two strums together to make it two-thirds of the beat. It should sound like two swung eighth notes. Finally, replace the second eighth note with a rest, and you have a swing quarter note. Try this out on various swing progressions you know.

Internalize the Groove

Maintaining a swing groove is essential when playing with other musicians. The strong- er everyone feels a similar swing, the tighter the pocket. Whether you are playing melodic lines, bass notes, or strums, the swing groove keeps everyone locked in. Internalizing the groove also helps maintain a steady tempo when it slows down. Set a metronome at 80 bpm and tap along with the beat while counting, “1, 2, 3, 4.” At a slow tempo, it can be difficult to know exactly where the next beat will land. Add a swing eighth, or even a triplet, to help measure the distance between beats, and notice how much easier it becomes to stay accurate.

Knowing the difference between swing and straight eighth notes will help you keep the groove appropriate whether you are playing accompaniment or lead guitar. Use these techniques above to get a swing feel. Once the subdivision into triplets feels comfortable, start to relax the exact placement to your liking and you will develop your own feel. You don’t need a lot of notes, you just need the good ones to feel good. Now get out there and swing!

This article originally appeared in the March/April 2025 issue of Acoustic Guitar magazine.