Tempo & rhythm
Swing
Swing delays every second sixteenth note so the rhythm lopes instead of marching. It is the difference between a house record that rolls and one that sits rigidly on the grid.
Measured in our catalog
Our groove reading — swing and rhythmic pull — runs at a median of 71 across 443,242 analysed tracks, and it tracks danceability at 0.47.
What it does not track is energy: that correlation is -0.11, close to nothing. So swing is not a property of soft records or of hard ones — a brutal techno tool and a shuffling garage record can sit at the same groove figure, and the two dimensions have to be read separately.
71
Median groove
0.47
vs danceability
-0.11
vs energy
443,242
Analysed tracks
Measured on 11 August 2026 across public tracks with an analysed groove value; correlations over 443,057 tracks carrying energy, groove and a BPM.
Why it matters
Swing is the single biggest reason two records at the same tempo and key can still refuse to sit together. A swung hi-hat against a straight one produces a flam on every off-beat, and no amount of nudging fixes it because both records are exactly where they mean to be.
It is also genre-diagnostic. Garage, jackin house and a lot of Afro house are built on heavy swing; techno and trance are almost entirely straight, which is why crossing between those families is more about feel than about tempo.
Frequently asked
What does swing do to a beat?+
It pushes every second subdivision slightly late, so pairs of notes become long-short rather than even. The pulse stays where it was; what moves is everything between the beats.
Can you mix a swung track with a straight one?+
You can, but keep the overlap short and thin one of them out. Held together for long, the off-beats flam against each other and it reads as a timing error rather than as a choice.
Is swing the same as groove?+
Swing is one part of it. Our groove reading also picks up the weight and regularity of the percussion, which is why it correlates with danceability at 0.47 rather than measuring shuffle alone.
Related terms
Groove
Groove is a 0–100 reading of swing and rhythmic pull — how much a track moves rather than simply pounds. It is what makes a quiet record danceable and a loud one stiff.
Syncopation
Syncopation puts accents where the beat is not — on off-beats and in the gaps between them. It is what makes a groove pull against the pulse rather than restate it.
Danceability
Danceability is a 0–100 reading of how easy a track is to move to — steady tempo, strong beat, regular rhythm. It is not the same as energy: a slow, quiet record can be highly danceable.
Four-on-the-floor
Four-on-the-floor is a kick drum on every beat of the bar. It is the rhythmic base of house, techno and trance, and it is the reason those genres mix into each other so easily.
Explore: UK garage mixing guide · Afro house BPM · Groove · All DJ terms