swingin' in 12/8

my band have many new tracks... one of which is pretty darned strange, it has an almost gospel feel to it... now, i want to be able to break into a full swing at somepoint, but i'm having trouble finding the best way to approach it?

it has four chords per bar, so one chord per main beat, repeated.

So, how do you swing in 12/8?

I thought it would be easy since each beat is effectively a triplet anyhow, but swinging each 1/8th note feels more like a really slow waltz (1,23,1,23...) and I want to have some real pace to it!

Right, each bar consists of 4 dotted quaters, each divided into 3 eigths, giving 12/8.

So I'm thinking that in order to get the pace I want I might need to play 16ths, making it 6 notes per chord, 24 notes per bar - This would be a 16th note triplet, is that right?

The other thing I cant fguire out is which notes to accent - I want it swing like a jazz line, but I dont know where to put the 'strong notes'?!
I.e. you listen to jazz linw in 4/4 and you can hear the 2 and 4 accented, pushing the line forward (that is right isnt it?!), but this has a chord change every 3 'beats'..?!

Basically, I need some advice here, I'm not sure how best to approach this, or even of the many options really?!

Help?!

Just for interest, the chords are A7 > Dmin7 > Bdim > DMaj7. I have no real problem with the chords, in that I'm discovering a zillion ways to approach playing them

 

Well as it happens they've come up with two new numbers in 12/8 and this is exactly waht I was doing in a section of another track with 4 chords per bar! It works great, I'm choosing a different note under each chord change to move the part forward.

However, Bruce is right, for this particular song I do really want to pick up the pace a bit.

If the tempo is set on the dotted quarter then it's about 40bpm, so 120 on the 8th note pulse, yeah, that's sounds about right.

Man, I saw Mingus BB the other day, and I just wanna swing like a real man, even if only briefly in this track!

So if double timed it I'd be playing dotted 18/ths over dotted 1/4s is that right?

giving me 8 beats per bar.. hmm, yeah , that could sound good, but with the drummer playing triplets on the hat I'm a bit confused - the drummer needs to do the classic 1 2& 3 4& on the ride for me here then...

i feel a sequencer experimentation session coming on!

 

You're getting confused?!

I dunno what I want to do, that's why I'm asking for help. I want to find some way of changing the pace of the track to pick it up, to omve through the chords, to stop dragging and feeling like a frikkin waltz!!!

Anyhow, I just sat here and approximated that tempo by looking at the second hand on my PC clock, so it was bound to be well out

So, I've just texted the keys player (who wrote the piece using a programmed 12/8 click)... and the bpm is set at around 65 on the dotted quarter, so that's 195 bpm on the 8th note!

So in actual fact if play the 8th notes I'll be playing at near 200 bpm, which should be plenty enough pace?!

The question now is, how do I accent the line without making it feel like a waltz?

Do I play it like three bars of 4/4, and make sure I hit the root on the chord change?

Do I use miss the middle 8th triplet and swing it like that?

Do I play swung 16th triplets at 200bom

 

LOL, sarky git!

Am I being delusional, or is it complete nonsense that anyone would pay 16ths at that speed for 45 minutes, pro or not? I cant imagine any musical reason to!
Plus i reckon you'd overheat and die!

I'm well confused with this song actually, the written line just plays on the "ONE & A TWO & A" - and really does feel gospel, it's real nice, but i want to add something of my own and swing is the way to go I think

i'll program something tonight and see how it comes out over the chords changes

 

Ah haaa!!!

I just got another text from the keys player, who said that he programmed the bpm on the straight 1/4 at 65pm. So 130bpm on the 8th, making it around 44bpm in 12/8.

So my estimate wasn't that far off at all

I thought that sounded wrong because I was playing the 8th triplets last night at it didnt feel like 200bpm!
So I double time the 8ths I'll be playing at 260... not sure if I can do that consistantly!

Interstingly the other song they wrote in 12/8 at the same tempo is called 44, by coincedance I think as well... spooky

 

Oh yes I know, I have to highlight the misunderstanding is not on my part!

In the other post Garret was saying that he practiced 16ths at 180pm for 45 minutes per day... and wondering why he was developing RSI!

I said that I didnt think anyone could do that without doing themselves some damage... and I stand by it!

Thrash Jazz then said that many pro's do it every night

To which I replied, nonsense, there is no music on earth that would reuqire that of a bassist!

16th note feel for hours at a time, fine. my band has a 180bpm funk track with a 16th note feel throughout (and two bass solos - i'll snd you our latest 4 track CD when it's finished - free of charge of course!)

precisely, continuous 16th notes, that's savage!!

 

OK, Jimmy Garrison - can you name me an album with his playing on - it's gotta have a 12/8 swing on it that! ...and i'll go buy it!

 

A good point... and a good philosphy also. If it aint broke, dont fix it..

I kind of had heard something, I heard this swing line really 'taking off'

When I said "I dunno what I want to do", I meant in terms of describing it... if I could play y'all the piece I could imitate the type of thing I wanted to hear... I just couldnt make it happen in rehearsal last night!

The line the guys have written I great, really great and it's staying just where it is.. but i really need to try out the swing thing, if i can make it work, i think it'll work... if u know what i mean?!

I so love this part of making "original" music.
Usually bass lines just jump right out at me - then I spend hours experimenting and wind up right back where I started.
I'll probably spend a good few hours this weekend working on this and end up with something really really simple... every time I do this it's a lesson I guess