Swing 8s and On/Off Chords

Understanding Straight Eights vs. Swing Eights

So, if you've had a go at sing and play, you'll notice that the backing track was in a straight eights feel.

The Difference Between Straight Eights and Swing Eights

Perhaps we should talk about the difference between straight eights and swing eights. It's good to practice things both ways. I was demonstrating in swing just now; the same idea in straight sounds quite different. So, it's important to be consistent with that.

Incorporating Off-Beat Chords

Also, I think it would be great if we stopped playing all the chords on the beat all the time and started playing some off-beat chords in the left hand. This is going to be much more jazzy!

Steps to Practice Off-Beat Chords:

• Start by playing these in the right hand, perhaps with a bass line.
• Play the first chord on the beat and the second chord on the two and/or in between the second and third beats.

Notice also that:

• The first chord is short.
• The second chord is often longer (I've tied it, in fact).

Straight Eights Feel

Now, in a straight eights feel, those notes will be exactly halfway through the beat, the off-beat chords.

Swing Feel Explanation

In a swing feel, they'll be a bit later than that because the swing feel is basically a triplet feel. If you play a scale in swing, it'll be like this:
1 and 2 and 3 and 4.

So, the off-beat chord needs to coincide with that.

Practical Application

If you do this in the left hand, it might be a bit clearer. I'm going to play a five-note loop in the right hand and play the off chord with the F in the right hand.

It's important that you should be able to do that without upsetting the right hand.

Final Thoughts

So, you might want to go back to sing and play and try putting some off-beat chords in the left hand whenever you feel like it, rather than just playing everything on the beat.