Re: Single Straight Eighths?

[Dave LaDelfa]

S L Raymond <sly_raymond <at> charter.net> writes:

> 
> In a Jazz chart with mostly swung eighth notes, what is the preferred 
> nomenclature for a single straight 8th note?

A single one? I can't imagine how you've not have some multiple of 2.

Completely unambiguous would be the designation "no swing" above the notes in
question and "swing" immediately after.

Or even better: use the same horizontal dashed line and closing foot as is used
for 8va signs, e.g.

          No swing-----------------|  Swing
(notes)    (notes)    (more notes)     (notes)

The "duol" suggestion someone else gave is also pretty good. (I believe the
actual term is "duplet") In this case, two eigth notes with a bracket and the
numeral 2 over them doesn't mean exactly the same thing it does in 6/8 music
(e.g. to change the length of the eighths by 150%), but it's a visual indicator
that you want them played somehow differently -- more "squarely" -- from their
neighbors.

I'd use the duplet-bracket indication WITH a text label "(not swung)" the first
time it appears, and then the duplet-bracket by itself thereafter. That should
be fairly clear to most players. 

> IMO, the markup "straight" is a bit crowded for just one or two notes.  
> I've considered using a sixteenth-dotted eighth figure, supposing that a 
> performer would interpret the "ahead of the beat" implication.
> 
> Any thoughts?
> 
> Lyle
>