r/SwingDancing • u/JonTigert Jason Segel Impersonator • 7d ago

Discussion Triple steps ≠ "syncopation"

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.

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u/shpalman_bs 5d ago

Annoys me too. Dancers seem to think syncopated means any slightly interesting rhythm.

Syncopation is about a strong beat arriving early and it's everywhere in swing music (it was already there in ragtime, which isn't swung). Think about the melody of Splanky, for example. Triple steps are the shuffle/swing rhythm and they have a weak beat arriving late. If you stepped hard on the & instead of on the following beat, then you'd be syncopated.