Comment by thangalin | Hacker News Reader

Comment by thangalin | Hacker News Reader

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The following blog post provides examples of swung beats and clapping, as it pertains to dancing:

http://vixswingjazz.wordpress.com/2013/03/18/can-you-hear-th...

A few songs are missing from the page:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFtNC8BwKI0 (Dinah; NSFW)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YqDbd6pUC0 (Everything is Jumping)

To get a feel for clapping on the even beats:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_WZenJnT8M (Shout, Sister, Shout!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg_pi0r75mA (Lavender Coffin)

Harry Connick Jr. beat-shifts the audience from clapping on 1 & 3 to 2 & 4 (at 40 second mark):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yD3iaURppQw

Usually the Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdowns have live music, which induces the audience to clap:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfWA4ClPnxk

A tradition called a jam circle involves encircling dancers who steal the spotlight, with the audience clapping (on even beats) for encouragement:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTRNQAcXhJo

This tradition goes back a long way; see Hellzapoppin' (1941) and Keep Punching (1939):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSAOV6XEjXA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfgKMfexdPQ

I play the Lavender Coffin track. I listen to it carefully. I replay it and try to clap on the claps. I fail. I try again. I still fail. I listen to the song again. I replay the track, but this time try to tap my finger (which is easier than clapping) and I still fail.

Will it get easier or am I just "beatdeaf"? (Here I can clearly hear the 1 2 3 4, and the claps, but I just cannot match the claps on 2 and 4.)

Try these:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REzz-My2PoI#t=100

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Joo90ZWrUkU#t=20

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8Tiz6INF7I

It takes practice. Newer dancers clap on 1 & 3 until they learn. Sometimes all it takes is for someone to clap quite loudly (almost passively-aggressively so) on the 2 & 4 for the rest of the people to shift over.

Oh man, I once went to (unnamed city) and everyone was clapping on 1 & 3, so I aggressively clapped on 2 & 4. It wasn't enough.

Living in the rural midwest, the concept of clapping on 2 and 4 was a foreign concept to most people I knew growing up. I lucked out because my dad was a music teacher. He caught me clapping on 1 and 3 once and promptly fixed it. Thanks Dad!

Having been clasically trained, it took me about 6 months of swing dancing to be able to clap on 2 and 4. Part of the reason why you clap on 2 and 4 is that you're 'kicking' energy into the next measure. It helps to do 'something else' on 1 and 3, like make a vocal sound, or tap with your foot.

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