美国国家公共电台 NPR--What makes that song swing? At last, physicists unravel a jazz mystery

What makes that song swing? At last, physicists² unravel³ a jazz mystery

Transcript⁴

For nearly a century, jazz musicians and scholars have debated the answer to a musical mystery. As legendary⁵ jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong once put it, "What is this thing called swing?"

Swing has long been considered an essential component⁶ of almost all types of jazz, from traditional to bepop to post-bop. As Ella Fitzgerald and many others have sung, "It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing." You might describe swing as a rhythmic⁷ phenomenon in jazz performances — a propulsive⁸, groovy feeling that makes you want to move with the music.

Still, a precise definition of swing has long eluded⁹ musicians and scholars alike. As the Big Band era jazz trumpeter Cootie Williams once reportedly joked about swing, "Describe it? I'd rather tackle Einstein's theory."

That elusive¹⁰ swing feel in performances

Ask a jazz musician what swing is, and you're likely to get the same answer Christian¹¹ McBride gave me.

"Swing is a feel," says McBride, a multi-Grammy-winning jazz bassist, music educator and host of NPR's Jazz Night in America. "There's a certain language. There's a certain inflection of rhythm."

There's one defining component of swing that's easy to hear, and it has to do with how eighth notes are played. Instead of playing them straight, like this ...

McBride vocally¹² demonstrates a straight eighth note

... in jazz these notes are swung, meaning the downbeats — or every other eighth note — is played just a little longer, while the offbeat¹³ notes in between are shortened, creating a galloping¹⁴ rhythm, like this.

McBride vocally demonstrates a swung eighth note

But jazz musicians know that technique alone can't explain swing — after all, even a computer can swing a note.

"A computer just ain't — excuse my language – it just ain't going to swing that hard, you know?" McBride says. "You still don't get the real proper swing feel, which is a human feel."

That swing feel happens as musicians interact in performance, McBride explains. "For me, I think you've got to lock people in and say, 'OK, here's where the time is, here's what the rhythm is.' And then everybody, collectively — the musicians and the listeners — can go, 'Oh, yeah ... that feels right.'"

But how exactly are musicians playing off each other to create that swing feel? That's what Theo Geisel wanted to find out.

The physics of swing

Geisel is a theoretical physicist¹ with the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics¹⁵ and Self-Organization and the University of G?ttingen in Germany. He spent decades studying the physics of synchronization¹⁶ — for example, how the billions of neurons in your brain coordinate¹⁷ with each other. He's also a passionate¹⁸ amateur saxophonist. He even has a band with other physicists. (They play at conferences.)

Geisel is now retired¹⁹. That's given him more time to use his theoretical physics toolkit to explore other mysteries of the universe, including this one: How do musicians synchronize²⁰ when they try to create swing in jazz?

"It's a general belief that musicians should synchronize as best they can when they play together. This is true, of course, to some extent," says Geisel.

But since the 1980s, some scientists and music scholars have claimed that the swing feel is actually created by tiny timing²¹ deviations²² between different musicians playing different types of instruments. To test this theory, Geisel and his colleagues took jazz recordings²⁴ and used a computer to manipulate the timing of the soloist²⁵ with respect to the rhythm section.

"We had experts — professional and semi-professional jazz musicians — rate how swinging these different versions of a tune²⁶ were," he explains.

The song they manipulated was a recording²³ of "Jordu," a jazz standard written by Duke Jordan. In one version, for example, the piano soloist started at the exact same time as the rhythm section. In another version, the soloist's downbeats started just the tiniest bit behind the rhythm section, but their offbeats were not delayed.

Here's what those two versions sound like:

Original recording of 'Jordu'

'Jordu' with a downbeat delay

Didn't hear a difference between the clips? It's OK. Geisel says most people probably won't. After all, the timing delays we're talking about are miniscule — just 30 milliseconds, or a fraction of the time it takes to blink an eye.

Even so, the jazz musicians who rated the clips picked up on it.

"They noticed a difference and they could feel the difference," Geisel says. "They told us that they could hear friction²⁷ between the rhythm section and the soloist, but they were amazed that they could not identify what was going on exactly. "

Geisel says the expert musicians were nearly 7.5 times more likely to rate the version with the downbeat delays as having more of a satisfying swing feel.

In another part of the experiment, the researchers also analyzed²⁸ a database with over 450 recordings of jazz soloists²⁹, including performances by the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Joshua Redman and Charlie Parker. They found that almost all of them were using tiny downbeat delays relative to the rhythm section. "There were very few exceptions," Geisel says.

He says these tiny timing delays aren't random³⁰. They're systematic³¹, though musicians are probably just doing it intuitively.

So have scientists finally cracked the cipher³² of swing?

As for jazz musicians seeking the secret to swing, McBride's advice is: Study the greats.

"There's the spiritual answer and then there's the scientific answer," McBride says. "You've just got to listen to people who did it well. Louis Armstrong, start there. If you actually want to go hear someone who can swing their butt³³ off, Nicholas Payton would not be a bad start. Branford Marsalis would not be a bad start."

Listen closely, he says, and eventually those mysteries of rhythm and timing will reveal themselves.

1 physicist   

n.物理学家，研究物理学的人

参考例句：

• He is a physicist of the first rank.他是一流的物理学家。
• The successful physicist never puts on airs.这位卓有成就的物理学家从不摆架子。

2 physicists   

物理学家( physicist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• For many particle physicists, however, it was a year of frustration. 对于许多粒子物理学家来说，这是受挫折的一年。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技
• Physicists seek rules or patterns to provide a framework. 物理学家寻求用法则或图式来构成一个框架。

3 unravel   

v.弄清楚（秘密）；拆开，解开，松开

参考例句：

• He was good with his hands and could unravel a knot or untangle yarn that others wouldn't even attempt.他的手很灵巧，其他人甚至都不敢尝试的一些难解的绳结或缠在一起的纱线，他都能解开。
• This is the attitude that led him to unravel a mystery that long puzzled Chinese historians.正是这种态度使他解决了长期以来使中国历史学家们大惑不解的谜。

4 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

5 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

6 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

7 rhythmic   

adj.有节奏的，有韵律的

参考例句：

• Her breathing became more rhythmic.她的呼吸变得更有规律了。
• Good breathing is slow,rhythmic and deep.健康的呼吸方式缓慢深沉而有节奏。

8 propulsive   

adj.推进的

参考例句：

• The fish uses its tail fins for propulsive force throgh the water.鱼靠尾鳍在水中前进。
• Interest in jet propulsive force was now growing at the Air Ministry.航空部对喷气推进的兴趣正在增加。

9 eluded   

v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的过去式和过去分词 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到

参考例句：

• The sly fox nimbly eluded the dogs. 那只狡猾的狐狸灵活地躲避开那群狗。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The criminal eluded the police. 那个罪犯甩掉了警察的追捕。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

10 elusive   

adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的

参考例句：

• Try to catch the elusive charm of the original in translation.翻译时设法把握住原文中难以捉摸的风韵。
• Interpol have searched all the corners of the earth for the elusive hijackers.国际刑警组织已在世界各地搜查在逃的飞机劫持者。

11 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

12 vocally   

adv. 用声音, 用口头, 藉著声音

参考例句：

• She is not SCREAMER or MOANER - She is VOCALLY APPRECIATIVE. 她并不乱叫或发牢骚，只是用声音表示喜怒。
• The left has been vocally against. 左派力量一直竭力声讨。

13 offbeat   

adj.不平常的，离奇的

参考例句：

• She adores old,offbeat antiques.她非常喜欢那些稀奇古怪的老古董。
• His style is offbeat but highly creative.他的风格很不寻常但非常有创造力。

14 galloping   

adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The horse started galloping the moment I gave it a good dig. 我猛戳了马一下，它就奔驰起来了。
• Japan is galloping ahead in the race to develop new technology. 日本在发展新技术的竞争中进展迅速，日新月异。

15 dynamics   

n.力学，动力学，动力，原动力；动态

参考例句：

• In order to succeed,you must master complicated knowledge of dynamics.要取得胜利，你必须掌握很复杂的动力学知识。
• Dynamics is a discipline that cannot be mastered without extensive practice.动力学是一门不做大量习题就不能掌握的学科。

16 synchronization   

n.同一时刻；同步；使时间互相一致；同时性

参考例句：

• Communication record: the function supports synchronization record during the communication process. 通话录音：支持通话过程的同步录音。 来自互联网
• Synchronization is an important problem of digital audio watermarking. 同步性是数字音频水印的一个重要问题。 来自互联网

17 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

18 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

19 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

20 synchronize   

v.使同步 [=synchronise]

参考例句：

• The sound on a film must synchronize with the action. 影片中的声音必须与动作配合一致。
• You must synchronize your Inbox before selecting additional folders. 在选择其他文件夹前，您必须同步您的收件箱。

21 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

22 deviations   

背离，偏离( deviation的名词复数 )； 离经叛道的行为

参考例句：

• Local deviations depend strongly on the local geometry of the solid matrix. 局部偏离严格地依赖于固体矩阵的局部几何形状。
• They were a series of tactical day-to-day deviations from White House policy. 它们是一系列策略上一天天摆脱白宫政策的偏向。

23 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

24 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

25 soloist   

n.独奏者，独唱者

参考例句：

• The soloist brought the house down with encore for his impressive voice.这位独唱家以他那感人的歌声博得全场喝彩。
• The soloist had never performed in London before.那位独唱者过去从未在伦敦演出过。

26 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

27 friction   

n.摩擦，摩擦力

参考例句：

• When Joan returned to work,the friction between them increased.琼回来工作后，他们之间的摩擦加剧了。
• Friction acts on moving bodies and brings them to a stop.摩擦力作用于运动着的物体，并使其停止。

28 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

29 soloists   

n.独唱者，独奏者，单飞者( soloist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The soloists were ably supported by the University Singers. 这些独唱歌手得到了大学歌手的大力支持。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Summer music festivals feature leading orchestras, soloists and opera companies. 在夏季举行的各音乐节，有著名的交响乐团、独唱和独奏者及歌剧团表演。 来自互联网

30 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

31 systematic   

adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的

参考例句：

• The way he works isn't very systematic.他的工作不是很有条理。
• The teacher made a systematic work of teaching.这个教师进行系统的教学工作。

32 cipher   

n.零；无影响力的人；密码

参考例句：

• All important plans were sent to the police in cipher.所有重要计划均以密码送往警方。
• He's a mere cipher in the company.他在公司里是个无足轻重的小人物。

33 butt   

n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶

参考例句：

• The water butt catches the overflow from this pipe.大水桶盛接管子里流出的东西。
• He was the butt of their jokes.他是他们的笑柄。