P33

Objectives

By the end of this chapter you will be able to:

  • Explain what syncopation is and why it makes beats feel groovy.
  • Use the PO-33’s swing feature to add shuffle to a beat.
  • Recognise swing in popular music.
  • Combine syncopation and swing to create a “human” feel.

Musical concept: what is syncopation?

Syncopation is the placement of a note off the beat. If a kick drum normally plays on step 1 (the downbeat), a syncopated kick plays on step 1.5 (the “and” of beat 1) or step 0.75 (the “e” of beat 4). The note lands where the listener doesn’t expect it, which creates tension and release.

Hewitt (Music Theory for Computer Musicians) defines syncopation as “the disruption of the regular pulse by emphasizing a normally unaccented beat or subdivision of the beat”. Reggaeton’s “dem bow” rhythm is a textbook syncopation — the kick plays on the “and” of every beat, not on the beat itself.

Sidebar — PO-33 and syncopation. The PO-33’s 16-step grid has steps at every sixteenth-note. Step 1 is the downbeat of beat 1. Step 2 is the “e” of beat 1. Step 3 is the “and” of beat 1. Step 4 is the “a” of beat 1. Step 5 is the downbeat of beat 2. A syncopated kick on step 3 (“and of 1”) is a sixteenth-note ahead of the downbeat.

Syncopation in popular music

Listen to any song you love. There is a good chance it has at least one syncopated element. Examples:

  • Michael Jackson, “Billie Jean”: the bassline syncopates against the kick. The kick is on the beat; the bass is on the "and"s.
  • OutKast, “Hey Ya!”: the kick plays on every step, but the snare plays on the "and"s of beats 2 and 4, not on the beats themselves. The snare is “late” by an eighth-note.
  • Reggaeton, “Gasolina”: the kick is on every eighth-note (steps 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15), not on every beat. This is a syncopated kick that lands on the "and"s.

Syncopation is what makes a beat “groove”. A perfectly quantised beat (every kick on every step) sounds robotic. A syncopated beat sounds human.

What is swing?

Swing is a specific kind of timing shift applied to even-numbered steps. Instead of step 3 (the “and” of beat 1) playing exactly halfway between steps 1 and 5, swing pushes step 3 toward step 5 — usually by 1/3 to 1/2 of the way. The result is that even-numbered steps (the “ands”) play late, and odd-numbered steps (the “downs”) play early. The beat shuffles.

Hewitt (Music Theory for Computer Musicians) describes swing as “the unequal subdivision of the beat”. A swing beat divides each beat into a long-short pattern instead of an equal pattern. The ratio is usually 2:1 (the long note is twice as long as the short note) but can be 3:1 for “heavy swing”.

The PO-33 has 8 swing levels (0 to 7). Level 0 is no swing; level 7 is extreme shuffle (the “ands” play very late). Level 2 or 3 is typical for hip-hop. Level 4 is typical for house. Level 6 is typical for shuffle / jazz.

Sidebar — jazz vs. electronic swing. Jazz swing pushes the “ands” of beats 2 and 4 (the snare hits) late. Electronic swing (house, hip-hop) often pushes the “ands” of all beats (the hi-hat hits) late. The PO-33’s swing is electronic-style: it affects every even-numbered step.

The math of swing

Without swing, step 3 plays at exactly 0.125 seconds after step 1 (at 120 BPM). With 50% swing, step 3 plays at 0.1667 seconds after step 1 — one-third of the way to step 5 instead of halfway. The “long-short” subdivision is 2:1.

The PO-33’s swing levels are roughly:

  • Level 0: no swing (1:1 subdivision).
  • Level 1: 51% swing (subdivision ≈ 1.04:1).
  • Level 2: 55% swing (1.22:1).
  • Level 3: 60% swing (1.5:1).
  • Level 4: 67% swing (2:1).
  • Level 5: 73% swing (2.7:1).
  • Level 6: 80% swing (4:1).
  • Level 7: 88% swing (7:1).

PO-33 Playback: setting swing

To set swing:

  1. Hold BPM.
  2. Turn Knob A. The screen shows the swing level (0–7).
  3. Release BPM.

Swing is global — it applies to every step of every pattern. You can’t have a “no swing” pattern and a “swing” pattern at the same time. But you can change swing between patterns if you chain patterns (Chapter 15).

How swing sounds

Try this:

  1. Build a basic beat from Chapter 4: kick on 1+9, snare on 5+13, hi-hat on every odd step.
  2. Set swing to 0. Listen. The beat is straight, robotic.
  3. Set swing to 3. Listen. The hi-hat pushes forward, the kick and snare pull back. The beat shuffles.
  4. Set swing to 6. Listen. The hi-hat is way late. This is “trap” or “juke” style.
  5. Set swing to 7. Listen. The hi-hat is so late it sounds broken. Don’t use this in a real song unless you mean it.

Syncopation without swing

You can also create syncopation by simply not placing sounds on every step. For example:

  • A kick on steps 1 and 11 (boom-bap).
  • A snare on steps 5 and 13 (backbeat).
  • A hi-hat on steps 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15 (every eighth-note).

This is the J Dilla pattern: kick on 1 and 11 (not 1 and 9), snare on 5 and 13. The kick is late by one sixteenth-note on beat 3. This is a syncopation, and it is what made Dilla’s beats famous.

To make a Dilla-style beat, just remove the kick from step 9 and add it to step 11. Easy. The challenge is making every beat sound like Dilla’s, which is beyond this book — but the principle (kick on 11, not 9) is the seed.

Guided exercise: the same beat at three swing levels

Success criteria: you can hear the difference between swing 0, swing 3, and swing 6 on the same beat.

  1. Build a basic beat: kick on 1+9, snare on 5+13, hi-hat on every odd step.
  2. Hold BPM, turn Knob A to 0. Press PLAY. Listen for 30 seconds.
  3. Turn Knob A to 3. Listen for 30 seconds.
  4. Turn Knob A to 6. Listen for 30 seconds.
  5. Turn Knob A back to 0 (or 2, if you want a “default” hip-hop swing).

Notice how the hi-hat changes the most. The kick and snare change less (because they are on the odd steps). Swing affects every step, but the human ear notices the change most on the even-numbered steps.

Creative challenge: the Dilla beat

Build a beat that uses only steps 1, 5, 11, and 13 for the kick (the “Dilla kick”), and only steps 5 and 13 for the snare. Add a hi-hat that skips every other eighth-note (1, 5, 9, 13 — a half-time hi-hat). Set swing to 3.

Listen. If it doesn’t immediately feel “Dilla-esque”, remove the snare from step 13 and add it to step 15. Then move the kick from 11 to 12. Keep adjusting until it grooves.

Listening assignment

Listen to:

  • J Dilla, “Workinonit” from Donuts (2006). The kick is on steps 1 and 11. The snare is on steps 5 and 13. The hi-hat is sparse, with rests. Swing is heavy. This is the “Dilla beat” in its purest form.
  • Madlib, “Accordion” from Madvillainy (2004). The kick plays only on step 1. The snare plays only on step 13. A single accordion sample loops. This is “less is more” at its most extreme.
  • Travis Scott, “SICKO MODE” (2018). The beat uses heavy swing (level 5 or 6). The hi-hat lands late. This is modern trap, descended from the Dilla tradition.
  • Daft Punk, “Around the World” (1997). Almost no swing (level 1). The beat is straight, mechanical, but also groovy because of the layering. Notice how a “no swing” beat can still groove.

Summary and checkpoint

Key takeaways:

  • Syncopation = notes off the beat. Swing = even-numbered steps play late.
  • Swing makes a beat feel groovy; no swing makes it feel mechanical.
  • The PO-33 has 8 swing levels (0–7). Level 3 is good for hip-hop; level 4 for house.
  • Dilla-style beats use kick on 1+11 (not 1+9) and heavy swing.

Self-check:

  • [ ] Can you set the PO-33’s swing to 3 and hear the difference from swing 0?
  • [ ] Can you write a Dilla-style beat (kick on 1+11, snare on 5+13)?
  • [ ] Can you explain why a kick on step 11 is “late”?
  • [ ] Do you understand the difference between syncopation (note placement) and swing (timing shift)?

If you answered “yes” to all four, you are ready for Part III: melody and harmony.

Part III — Melody and Harmony

Up to now your beats have been drums only. A drum-only loop is a rhythm track. A song has melody too: notes that go up and down, chords that change, a bassline that anchors the harmony. Part III introduces the melodic slots (slots 1–8), the chromatic pad layout, scales, intervals, basslines, and simple chord progressions. By the end of Part III you will have a beat with kick, snare, hat, bass, and lead — a full arrangement.