Swing Eighths (Right Hand)
Long-short pairs inside one beat: the jazz feel.
- Level:
- 5 of 6
- Hands:
- Right hand
- Key:
- C major
- Notes:
- 11
- Range:
- C4 to A4
- One run:
- about 6 seconds at 80 bpm
The notes, in order
11 notes, one at a time.
- C4
- D4
- E4
- F4
- G4
- A4
- G4
- F4
- E4
- D4
- C4
How to practise it
- Each beat splits two thirds and one third, not in half
- Think of the second note as leaning into the next beat
- Play it straight first, then swing it, to hear the difference
The scale behind it
This one is built on the C Major scale: C D E F G A B (no sharps or flats). Its right-hand fingering runs 1-2-3-1-2-3-4-5, and the scale page has the full diagram if you want to hear the shape on its own first.
How to play it here
Play along on the keys with your mouse, your computer keyboard, a touch screen, or a MIDI keyboard you have plugged in. Every key can show its own name, and the metronome will hold the tempo while you work through the 11 notes.
What it trains
- rhythm
- swing
- jazz
More rhythm
Subdivision and steady time, which is the skill people skip and then cannot hide.
- Sixteenth Note Groups (Right Hand) (level 5)
- Triplets (Right Hand) (level 4)
- Syncopation (Right Hand) (level 4)
- Dotted Rhythms (Right Hand) (level 3)
- Counting Rests (Right Hand) (level 3)
- Quarters and Eighths (Right Hand) (level 2)