Triple steps ≠ "syncopation"

[u/JonTigert]

Please dear God can we stop using this phrase wrong.

What you mean to say is that your triple steps are "swung".

Syncopation describes a moment; swung can describe an entire song.

When musicians talk about it, you don't say you have straight eighth notes and then syncopated eighth notes, that would be a nonsense statement. You say they are swung eighth notes.

If you want an example of syncopation, you could look to the song Castle Rock. That accent in the melody at the beginning is it good example of syncopation.

Syncopation does happen a lot in swing music, but it is not present in a step-step triple step basic in either six or eight counts.

[u/JonTigert → u/[deleted]]

The easy unified term is swing.

I am a drummer as well. It's just swing. That's it.

Sorry if it sounds confusing, but swinging your steps is exactly what's happening.

[u/-tacostacostacos → u/[deleted]]

It’s called swing dance, why is swinging your steps confusing?

[u/Big-Dot-8493 → u/[deleted]]

So, This post wasn't about teaching people how to teach, But In the real world I actually don't think teachers super need to talk about this in any class.

Students will hear and see the rhythm if you say it out loud while you show it.

If I need to get this in I would use something like this:

"Hear how how are triple steps go ya-kida instead of ya ki da? That's the "swing" of swing dancing. There's lots of other things that make swing dancing, But that's where the word swing comes from and what it means"

I I don't find that to be confusing, of course some folks would.

The main problem with what you're saying is that syncopation is a completely different thing that also happens in this dance. Just because it's a big complicated word that people Don't understand doesn't mean we can assign it a totally new meaning.

[u/Swing161 → u/[deleted]]

It’s really not that complicated, but if is an issue, jus say swing or swung rhythm, or “has swing in it” that can separately from a physical swinging motion.