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#687654 12/03/21 08:44 AM
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So this is something I've noticed since I started using BIAB many years ago: Who dictates what is an "even" feel versus what is a "swing" feel? What is the critera?
I ask because I was looking for a slow even feel style today, so I put "world", "Ev", and "80" in the Style Filter, and found that many of the styles marked as 'even' have a very distint swing feel to them. _SAORISE, _LEANNAN, _SELKIE, _ELANTHA, and many others, all came up listed as "ev16" but they are definitely swing feels. And I've found this in lots of areas.

Can it be fixed? Or, to cut down on work, maybe build a "report an error" into the StylePicker? It would be good to make them more accurate. Thanks.

Last edited by MovingAir; 12/03/21 08:44 AM.
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It is subjective, I suppose. Users do on occasion find one that is clearly mis-classified. Just send an email to support@pgmusic.com and it gets fixed in an update.


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MovingAir,

For beginners, Even (Ev) and Swing (Sw) refer to how close to a beat a chord, note or drum beat plays. Many people use Even and Straight interchangeably as well as the terms Swing and Shuffle interchangeably. Here is a fantastic video that audibly and visually explains swing.+++ What Is Swing +++

I've found the easiest way for me to tell if something is SW or EV is to listen to the drum high-hat hits. The video helps demonstrate my reasoning.

The amount of time a hit lags or leads a beat contributes to how strong swing feels. A hit close to a beat will feel more even than a hot far away from a beat. Many MIDI sequencers will have a control that humanizes or adds a swing feel by controlling the amount a note lags or precedes a beat.


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In BIAB, some swings are not pure swings. If they are matched with even drums, they become even. The drum with swing feeling is swing.
However, there are some swing drums that can only be matched with swing drums. If they are matched with even drums, it will be chaotic.
So I think the distinction between even and swing in BIAB is based on drums, not other musical instruments. I don't know if I'm right.


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I appreciate the input. Just to be clear: I'm no beginner. I've toured the world as a musician and have been doing this for 40 years. That's why I'm asking about the distinction here. That's not to 'blow my own horn.' That's just for clarification.

There are also other things with BIAB that I've noticed: things like the labelling (or lack thereof) of double-time/half-time styles, etc. But the style thing seems to be to be the most pressing simply because if someone is looking for something with a shuffle/swing feel, and things are labeled like they are, they could miss finding what they're looking for because of a sorting issue. I've found styles well after-the-fact where I've thought "man, that's the style I wanted for xxx song last year," and I never would have found it because it was labelled under, in my opinion, the wrong style.

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During testing, some of the users try to audition the new styles and if we hear something that appears to be mislabeled, we say so. But as I mentioned, you can and should alert PG Music if you find something that you consider wrongly classified. Also do a Slow Rebuild of your styles index after every update.


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I know, at one point, the style wizard asked you to identify via a check box, if your style was to be labeled even or odd. I don't know if this is still true, or if PG styles use a similar process.
Regardless, the classification looks like it is user generated, and has nothing to do with instrumentation or anything else


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Dave #689170 12/08/21 05:35 AM
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Originally Posted By: Dave
I know, at one point, the style wizard asked you to identify via a check box, if your style was to be labeled even or odd. I don't know if this is still true, or if PG styles use a similar process.
Regardless, the classification looks like it is user generated, and has nothing to do with instrumentation or anything else

That seems odd...
Did you mean to type "even or odd"?
My question is not meant to be pedantic, it's just that I haven't explored the "style wizard" yet... I assumed you meant "even or swing", but...

Last edited by bloc-head; 12/08/21 06:24 AM. Reason: added text

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Yeah - sorry. Rented fingers. I should also have called it StyleMaker

Even or swing was a user defined attribute
In the MISC style settings is a box labelled JAZZ STYLE? as well as one labelled WALTZ? If checked they give you swing (and waltz)


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