Words like “grooving”, “swinging” or “funky” are used to describe pretty much any style of music today including RnB, pop and jazz. This article discusses what those descriptions refer to and clarify what “the groove” is about.
A beat that feels good
Rhythm and time feel are the main expressive means in music. Each kind of music is unique in the way it deals with the beat. Especially when it comes to defining their own music you might have heard many expressions like the ones stated above from your favorite artists. Although they come in different flavors, they all basically mean a beat that feels good.
How is it different than what a metronome sounds like?
The term groove itself comes from the idea that the phonograph needle follows the groove on the record as a musician follows a certain feel of rhythm in music. Human rhythms are never metronomic. Modern popular music (including jazz, rock, hip-hop, etc.) is influenced by a vast variety of cultures from all over the world. If you listen to an unfamiliar tune you can often detect that something reminds you of a certain place. For example: “this sounds kind of Brazilian” or “Balkan”. Or even a specific time: 1920’s music had a different feel than the 50’s (not to mention the 80’s!). So when you are learning a new style of music it is important to get a strong feel about that certain rhythmic understanding and tradition.
Once you are in the process of getting used to that new idea of rhythm in a new style you can realize that the information you get from a metronome (doesn’t matter how detailed it can get with subdivisions) is not the same with what an accomplished musician of the field can play. This can be explained by those particular musicians sometimes bending or stretching the time and having a very clear onset in the notes they play.
As an exercise to understand, use this recording to try to tap into a metronome the quarter notes as accurately as you can and compare it to the music by Charles Mingus:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4ys-h1d0kY
You will notice that each and every musician in this combination has a very different feel than what the metronome will give you and it doesn’t mean that they are “out of time” at all. In fact, they are able to create their completely unique feel and flow in it all together!
One particular type of groove: swing
Jazz musicians talk about “swinging” a lot. Swing is a particular type of groove that can be found in many styles of jazz. The best description of it I’ve heard goes as follows “the goal is to create the illusion of loose time within a steady beat”.
Not all the beats should be the same in a measure of music for it to groove. A note can be “on top” of the beat, “ahead” of it or “behind” it to a different extent. Other parameters could be the accents/ghost notes, articulation and tempo. A specific balance of all these gives the music its unique character.
Especially for a beginner it’s crucial to realize the real importance of the groove. The mistakes you might make with your note or chord choices never sound as dramatic as loosing the beat in a piece. This can destroy the illusion of your whole performance and kill the focus of your audience.
All the teachers at MyMusicShool.com are professional musicians and put a lot of emphasis on developing their understanding of time. So regardless of your instrument of choice you can learn more about rhythm and feeling the groove as a part of your online music lessons.