Original tip was http://my.noteworthysoftware.com/?topic=2363. See also http://my.noteworthysoftware.com/?topic=2288.

G'day Snooker,
I'm not quite sure what you're asking...

Do you want the drum part to swing but without having a tempo track to make it happen?

FWIW, swing charts are normally written straight, with a directive to the musician to swing the quavers (8ths).  However, for the non-jazz musician, you could write the part in 12/8 and make the note values crotchet/quaver pairs instead of quaver/quaver pairs.  This would result in roughly the same feel.  Another method is to write in 4/4 with crotchet/quaver triplets. 

Ultimately though, these notation alternatives are much busier than they need to be.  Quaver/quaver pairs with a swing directive is far better.  For NWC, you then use one of the several methods for adjusting the playback speed, such as the method K.A.T. has presented, to get the audio playback to sound right while keeping the look right.



** Crotchet = 1/4, quaver = 1/8

G'day Snooker,
yup, that's pretty much it.  You mightn't always have all the quavers beamed, E.G. the music might have a dotted crotchet followed by a quaver or the like.  Doesn't matter, the quavers still get swung.

If you look in my font suites you'll see a couple of swing symbols to make the printed directive easier.  Don't forget to make the tempo track do its thing or it won't sound right.

Even though it's theoretically wrong in 4/4 time, you will often find the beams are in groups of four eighths in swing or other jazz notation.

Sammy Nestico's book suggests not beaming across beat 3 in 4/4 bars or across beat 2 in cut time bars.  That way the reading musician can always tell at a glance where the major subdivision is in the bar.

Nestico also recommends using tied eighth notes instead of a quarter note when crossing the major subdivision of a bar. So don't write the first bar, it's confusing.  The second bar is preferred.

!NoteWorthyComposerClip(2.0,Single)
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:0
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:0
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:0!1
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:0
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:0
|Bar|Style:SectionClose
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:0
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:0
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:0^!1
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:0!1
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:0
|Rest|Dur:8th
!NoteWorthyComposerClip-End