Swing
Swing is a rhythmic feel in which pairs of eighth notes are played unevenly, with the first held longer than the second, instead of splitting the beat equally. Central to jazz, blues and swing music, it gives a relaxed, rolling momentum. The exact ratio varies with style and tempo, but the long-short pattern is what makes music swing.
Swing refers to the way eighth notes are subdivided unevenly to create a characteristic bounce. In straight rhythm, two eighth notes divide a beat into equal halves. In swing, the first of the pair is lengthened and the second shortened, often approximating a triplet feel where the beat splits into a long two-thirds and a short one-third. This long-short pulse is fundamental to jazz, blues, swing-era big band music and much of early rock and roll. The precise amount of swing is not fixed: players push it toward an even feel at very fast tempos and toward a wider, more pronounced shuffle at slower ones, adjusting by taste and style. Swing is felt as much as measured, which is why it resists exact notation and is usually indicated simply with the instruction to swing the eighths. Practicing with a metronome helps internalize where the second, delayed note lands against a steady beat. FretMind's metronome supports practicing rhythmic feel so you can lock swing phrasing to a reliable pulse.