Effects of swing position in one measure on the feeling of musical rhythm: Examination using the rhythm dividing every beat

Swing is an expression technique used in the performance of popular music. Swing causes the feeling of wanting to move the body in accordance with the musical rhythm. Swing is expressed by dividing one beat into two temporally unequal parts (e.g., 2:1). This study examined the effects of a swing’s position in one measure on the feeling of musical rhythm. Every beat of the duple meter rhythm was divided into two parts. Four conditions of the swing’s position were prepared: the “every-beat swing,” the “odd-beat swing” (the swing’s position being the first beat), the “even-beat swing” (the swing’s position being the second beat), and the “no swing” conditions. This study had 114 participants listening to musical rhythms presented with Scheffé's paired-comparison method and rated the degree of “wanting to move the body” and “pleasantness.” The results showed that the “every-beat swing” condition got the highest rating scores for a feeling of “wanting to move the body.” We consider that the partial presence of swing, irrespective of the swing’s position, might hardly allow listeners to attune to the rhythm of duple meter music.