Can you apply Swing to 8th and 16th note triplets?

[bobsguitars09]

Can you apply Swing to 8th and 16th note triplets? if the whole passage is 8th or 16th note triplets? is this common? if so. any examples in music?

my other question is how do you count 8th note triplets to each metronome click? is it 3 per click for 8th and 6 per click for 16th?

[JonnyPac]

Triplets are usually played as even sets of 3, as far as I know.

8th triplets are three per click if the click is the quarter note, and therefore 16th are 6 per click. Quarter note triplets are actually tougher since you must fit 3 in the space of 2 clicks evenly.

PS Swung 8ths are commonly notated as tied 8th note triplets (the first two tied together). The ratio is a bit off, but it is close enough for most non-fussy jazzers.

[bobsguitars09]

thank you! I need to get caught up with all the replies to my thread

[whiskey02]

You don't swing triplets. End of thread.

[Flyin' Brian]

Originally Posted by whiskey02

You don't swing triplets. End of thread.

Actually quarter note triplets are very swinging. And swinging 8ths is pretty much done by playing 8ths in a 3 feel, like Johnny Pac said. Thread open again.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

We just had a thread about different ways to accent triplets. This is different to "swinging" them, which would be about timing.

[M-ster]

Originally Posted by Flyin' Brian

Actually quarter note triplets are very swinging. And swinging 8ths is pretty much done by playing 8ths in a 3 feel, like Johnny Pac said. Thread open again.

OP didn't ask about quarter note triplets or swing 8ths. OP asked, "Can you apply Swing to 8th and 16th note triplets?"

Start your own thread?

[Sandor]

I think if someone tried to swing triplets it would just sound like they were playing sloppy/with bad time.

[JonnyPac]

You can swing triplets via metric modulation, but that's for another thread.

[rictroll]

Swinging is more than just timing - it's also about articulation and accents (as noted elsewhere).

I also think that Brazilian musicians often blur the difference between triplets and duple meter figures like 8th/quarter/8th or 16th/8th/16th. In those cases they are more often than not 'swinging' the straight figure, but jazz players often take advantage of that 'in between' feel to varying degrees.

That said, it's important to play precisely (in terms of metric subdivisions), as that precision allows you to have more impact and options in terms of varying your articulation without it sounding sloppy and/ or unintentional.