swing eighth

oldturtle

I just have received gypsy picking book a few days ago.
It seems on CD it all recorded in strait eighth.
Is it because GJ is played mostly on strait eighth or is it better to practice on strait eighth?
or Can I practice also on swing eighth?

Jazzaferri

On non Latin pieces generally swing the eighths On Latin usually play straight eighths.

Swing can be either triplet feel ....for one beat subdivide into 3 and the first note is held 1,2, and the other eighth played on 3 3

or in can be heavily swung which is played like a dotted eighth and a sixteenth. Beat is divided into four and the first eighth is held 1.2.3 and the last eighth is played on 4

hanear21

I believe that the examples are done in straight eighths for the sake of simplicity. The book assumes you are a complete beginner and thus the examples are approachable even if you have no experience playing swing tunes. Technically the book is about technique so Michael probably wasn't too worried about making the examples swing. I would say once you've mastered the techniques in straight eighths you would probably want to practice them by playing along with actual tunes, and there you will incorporate the swing eighths.

Bones

Note that as the tempo gets faster it is harder to play swing eights since the duration between the 'and' on one beat and the next down beat is shortened. It's easier to play straight eights at faster tempos.