Jazz vs. Swing — What's the Difference?
Edited by Tayyaba Rehman — By Fiza Rafique — Updated on September 28, 2023
Jazz is a broad musical genre originating in African American communities, while Swing is a specific jazz subgenre characterized by a strong rhythm section and upbeat tempo.
Difference Between Jazz and Swing
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Jazz is a diverse and influential musical genre that emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries within African American communities in the South. Swing, on the other hand, came into prominence in the 1930s and 1940s as a particular style within the jazz realm.
Jazz encompasses a vast range of styles, from blues to bebop to fusion. In contrast, Swing is primarily associated with big band dance music, characterized by its syncopated rhythms and distinctive swing feel.
Originating in New Orleans, Jazz has roots in blues, ragtime, and West African cultural and musical expressions. Swing, however, originated as an evolution of earlier jazz forms, reaching its height with figures like Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington.
One of the distinguishing features of Jazz is improvisation, where musicians spontaneously create melodies. In Swing music, while there's room for improvisation, the focus leans more towards orchestrated arrangements and danceability.
The influence of Jazz is broad, shaping numerous other genres like rock, funk, and hip-hop. Swing, being a subset of jazz, played a pivotal role in popularizing jazz to a broader audience, especially with its infectious rhythm suitable for dancing.
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Comparison Chart
Origin
Emerged in late 19th and early 20th centuries
Gained popularity in the 1930s and 1940s
Main Features
Diverse styles, improvisation
Strong rhythm, orchestrated arrangements, danceable
Prominent Instruments
Trumpet, saxophone, piano, bass
Brass section, woodwinds, double bass, drums
Representative Artists
Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong
Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller
Cultural Impact
Broad, influencing numerous genres
Popularized jazz as dance music in the 1930s and 1940s
Compare with Definitions
Jazz
A music genre rooted in African American traditions.
The Jazz Age of the 1920s saw a surge in the genre's popularity.
Swing
A jazz subgenre characterized by danceable rhythms.
The swing era had everyone up and dancing.
Jazz
A style known for its improvisational nature.
Her jazz performance was spontaneous and soulful.
Swing
Jazz that emphasizes strong, syncopated rhythms.
Swing music is known for its infectious beats.
Jazz
A fusion of blues, ragtime, and other musical forms.
Jazz music seamlessly blends various rhythmic and melodic elements.
Swing
A style that dominated American popular music in the 1930s-40s.
Swing dancers showed off their best moves on the dance floor.
Jazz
An art form synonymous with New Orleans and Harlem.
The city's jazz clubs were bustling every night.
Swing
The rhythmic groove that gives jazz its momentum.
The band's swing feel got everyone tapping their feet.
Jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major form of musical expression in traditional and popular music, linked by the common bonds of African-American and European-American musical parentage.
Swing
Move or cause to move back and forth or from side to side while suspended or on an axis
Her long black skirt swung about her legs
The door swung shut behind him
A priest began swinging a censer
Jazz
A style of music, native to America, characterized by a strong but flexible rhythmic understructure with solo and ensemble improvisations on basic tunes and chord patterns and, more recently, a highly sophisticated harmonic idiom.
Swing
Move by grasping a support from below and leaping
The Irishman swung himself into the saddle
We swung across like two trapeze artists
Jazz
Big band dance music.
Swing
Move or cause to move in a smooth, curving line
She swung her legs to the side of the bed
The cab swung into the car park
Jazz
Animation; enthusiasm.
Swing
Shift or cause to shift from one opinion, mood, or state of affairs to another
Opinion swung in the Chancellor's favour
The failure to seek peace could swing sentiment the other way
Jazz
Nonsense.
Swing
Play music with a flowing but vigorous rhythm
The band swung on
Jazz
Miscellaneous, unspecified things
Brought the food and all the jazz to go with it.
Swing
(of an event, place, or way of life) be lively, exciting, or fashionable.
Jazz
(Music) To play in a jazz style.
Swing
Engage in group sex or swap sexual partners within a group, especially on a habitual basis.
Jazz
To utter exaggerations or lies to
Don't jazz me.
Swing
A seat suspended by ropes or chains, on which someone may sit and swing back and forth.
Jazz
To give great pleasure to; excite
The surprise party jazzed the guest of honor.
Swing
An act of swinging
With the swing of her arm, the knife flashed through the air
Jazz
To cause to accelerate.
Swing
A discernible change in opinion, especially the amount by which votes or points scored change from one side to another
A five per cent swing to Labour
Jazz
To exaggerate or lie.
Swing
A style of jazz or dance music with a flowing but vigorous rhythm.
Jazz
(music genre) A musical art form rooted in West African cultural and musical expression and in the African American blues tradition, with diverse influences over time, commonly characterized by blue notes, syncopation, swing, call and response, polyrhythms and improvisation.
Swing
A swift tour involving a number of stops, especially one undertaken as part of a political campaign.
Jazz
Energy, excitement, excitability.
Swing
(in musical theatre) an understudy, typically one who covers multiple roles in the chorus of a particular production.
Jazz
The substance or makeup of a thing.
What jazz were you referring to earlier?
What is all this jazz lying around?
Swing
To move back and forth suspended or as if suspended from above.
Jazz
Unspecified thing(s).
Swing
To hit at something with a sweeping motion of the arm
Swung at the ball.
Jazz
(with positive terms) Something of excellent quality, the genuine article.
Swing
To move laterally or in a curve
The car swung over to the curb.
Jazz
Nonsense.
Stop talking jazz.
Swing
To turn in place on or as if on a hinge or pivot.
Jazz
Semen, jizz.
Swing
To move along with an easy, swaying gait
Swinging down the road.
Jazz
To destroy.
Swing
To propel oneself from one place or position to another by grasping a fixed support
Swinging through the trees.
Jazz
To play (jazz music).
Swing
To ride on a swing.
Jazz
To dance to the tunes of jazz music.
Swing
To shift from one attitude, interest, condition, or emotion to another; vacillate.
Jazz
To enliven, brighten up, make more colourful or exciting; excite
Swing
(Slang) To be put to death by hanging.
Jazz
To complicate.
Swing
To have a subtle, intuitively felt rhythm or sense of rhythm.
Jazz
To have sex for money, to prostitute oneself.
Swing
To play with a subtle, intuitively felt sense of rhythm.
Jazz
(intransitive) To move (around/about) in a lively or frivolous manner; to fool around.
Swing
To be lively, trendy, and exciting.
Jazz
To distract or pester.
Swing
To engage in promiscuous sex.
Jazz
To ejaculate.
Swing
To exchange sex partners. Used especially of married couples.
Jazz
A type of music that originated in New Orleans around 1900 and developed through increasingly complex styles, but generally featuring intricate rhythms, improvisation, prominent solo segments, and great freedom in harmonic idiom played frequently in a polyphonic style, on various instruments including horn, saxophone, piano and percussion, but rarely stringed instruments.
Swing
To have a sexual orientation
Which way does he swing?.
Jazz
Empty or insincere or exaggerated talk; as, don't give me any of that jazz.
Swing
To cause to move back and forth, as on a swing.
Jazz
A style of dance music popular in the 1920s; similar to New Orleans jazz but played by large bands.
Swing
To cause to move in a broad arc or curve
Swing a bat.
Swung the car over.
Jazz
Empty rhetoric or insincere or exaggerated talk;
That's a lot of wind
Don't give me any of that jazz
Swing
To cause to move with a sweeping motion
Swinging his arms.
Jazz
A genre of popular music that originated in New Orleans around 1900 and developed through increasingly complex styles
Swing
To lift and convey with a sweeping motion
Swung the cargo onto the deck.
Jazz
A style of dance music popular in the 1920s; similar to New Orleans jazz but played by large bands
Swing
To suspend so as to sway or turn freely
Swung a hammock between two trees.
Jazz
Play something in the style of jazz
Swing
To suspend on hinges
Swing a shutter.
Jazz
Have sexual intercourse with;
This student sleeps with everyone in her dorm
Adam knew Eve
Were you ever intimate with this man?
Swing
To cause to turn on hinges
Swung the door shut.
Jazz
A musical expression of emotion and innovation.
The saxophonist's jazz solos captivated the audience.
Swing
To cause to shift from one attitude, position, opinion, or condition to another.
Swing
To manage or arrange successfully
Swing a deal.
Swing
To bring around to the desired result
Swing an election.
Swing
(Music) To play (music) with a subtle, intuitively felt sense of rhythm.
Swing
The act or an instance of swinging; movement back and forth or in one particular direction.
Swing
The sweep or scope of something that swings
The pendulum's swing is 12 inches.
Swing
A blow or stroke executed with a sweeping motion of the arm.
Swing
The manner in which one swings something, such as a bat or golf club.
Swing
A shift from one attitude, position, or condition to another
A swing to conservatism.
Swing
Freedom of action
The children have free swing in deciding what color to paint their room.
Swing
A swaying, graceful motion
Has a swing to her walk.
Swing
A sweep back and forth
The swing of a bird across the sky.
Swing
A course or tour that returns to the starting point
A swing across the state while campaigning.
Swing
A seat suspended from above, as by ropes, on which one can ride back and forth for recreation.
Swing
The normal rhythm of life or pace of activities
Back in the swing.
Swing
A steady, vigorous rhythm or movement, as in verse.
Swing
A regular movement up or down, as in stock prices.
Swing
A type of popular dance music developed about 1935 and based on jazz but employing a larger band, less improvisation, and simpler harmonic and rhythmic patterns.
Swing
A ballroom dance performed to this music.
Swing
A subtle, intuitively felt rhythmic quality or sense of rhythm.
Swing
(Music) Relating to or performing swing
A swing band.
Swing
Determining an outcome; decisive
The swing vote.
Swing
(intransitive) To rotate about an off-centre fixed point.
The plant swung in the breeze.
Swing
(intransitive) To dance.
Swing
(intransitive) To ride on a swing.
The children laughed as they swung.
Swing
(intransitive) To participate in the swinging lifestyle; to participate in wife-swapping.
Swing
(intransitive) To hang from the gallows; to be punished by hanging, swing for something or someone; (often hyperbolic) to be severely punished.
Swing
To move sideways in its trajectory.
Swing
To make the ball move sideways in its trajectory.
Swing
(intransitive) To fluctuate or change.
It wasn't long before the crowd's mood swung towards restless irritability.
Swing
(transitive) To move (an object) backward and forward; to wave.
He swung his sword as hard as he could.
Swing
(transitive) To change (a numerical result); especially to change the outcome of an election.
Swing
(transitive) To make (something) work; especially to afford (something) financially.
If it’s not too expensive, I think we can swing it.
Swing
To play notes that are in pairs by making the first of the pair slightly longer than written (augmentation) and the second shorter, resulting in a bouncy, uneven rhythm.
Swing
To move one's arm in a punching motion.
Swing
(transitive) In dancing, to turn around in a small circle with one's partner, holding hands or arms.
"to swing one's partner", or simply "to swing"
Swing
To admit or turn something for the purpose of shaping it; said of a lathe.
The lathe can swing a pulley of 12 inches diameter.
Swing
To put (a door, gate, etc.) on hinges so that it can swing or turn.
Swing
(nautical) To turn round by action of wind or tide when at anchor.
A ship swings with the tide.
Swing
The manner in which something is swung.
He worked tirelessly to improve his golf swing.
Door swing indicates direction the door opens.
The swing of a pendulum
Swing
The sweep or compass of a swinging body.
Swing
A line, cord, or other thing suspended and hanging loose, upon which anything may swing.
Swing
A hanging seat in a children's playground, for acrobats in a circus, or on a porch for relaxing.
Swing
A dance style.
Swing
(music) The genre of music associated with this dance style.
Swing
The amount of change towards or away from something.
Swing
(politics) In an election, the increase or decrease in the number of votes for opposition parties compared with votes for the incumbent party.
The polls showed a wide swing to Labour.
Swing
(cricket) Sideways movement of the ball as it flies through the air.
Swing
Capacity of a turning lathe, as determined by the diameter of the largest object that can be turned in it.
Swing
In a musical theater production, a performer who understudies several roles.
Swing
A basic dance step in which a pair link hands and turn round together in a circle.
Swing
(obsolete) Free course; unrestrained liberty.
Swing
Influence or power of anything put in motion.
Swing
(boxing) A type of hook with the arm more extended.
Swing
To move to and fro, as a body suspended in the air; to wave; to vibrate; to oscillate.
I tried if a pendulum would swing faster, or continue swinging longer, in case of exsuction of the air.
Swing
To sway or move from one side or direction to another; as, the door swung open.
Swing
To turn round by action of wind or tide when at anchor; as, a ship swings with the tide.
Swing
To be hanged.
He had swung round the circle of theories and systems in which his age abounded, without finding relief.
Swing
To cause to swing or vibrate; to cause to move backward and forward, or from one side to the other.
He swings his tail, and swiftly turns his round.
They get on ropes, as you must have seen the children, and are swung by their men visitants.
Swing
To give a circular movement to; to whirl; to brandish; as, to swing a sword; to swing a club; hence, colloquially, to manage; as, to swing a business.
Swing
To admit or turn (anything) for the purpose of shaping it; - said of a lathe; as, the lathe can swing a pulley of 12 inches diameter.
Swing
The act of swinging; a waving, oscillating, or vibratory motion of a hanging or pivoted object; oscillation; as, the swing of a pendulum.
Swing
Swaying motion from one side or direction to the other; as, some men walk with a swing.
Swing
A line, cord, or other thing suspended and hanging loose, upon which anything may swing; especially, an apparatus for recreation by swinging, commonly consisting of a rope, the two ends of which are attached overhead, as to the bough of a tree, a seat being placed in the loop at the bottom; also, any contrivance by which a similar motion is produced for amusement or exercise.
Swing
Influence of power of a body put in swaying motion.
The ram that batters down the wall,For the great swing and rudeness of his poise,They place before his hand that made the engine.
Swing
Capacity of a turning lathe, as determined by the diameter of the largest object that can be turned in it.
Swing
Free course; unrestrained liberty or license; tendency.
To prevent anything which may prove an obstacle to the full swing of his genius.
Swing
A state of steady vigorous action that is characteristic of an activity;
The party went with a swing
It took time to get into the swing of things
Swing
Mechanical device used as a plaything to support someone swinging back and forth
Swing
A sweeping blow or stroke;
He took a wild swing at my head
Swing
Changing location by moving back and forth
Swing
A style of jazz played by big bands popular in the 1930s; flowing rhythms but less complex than later styles of jazz
Swing
A jaunty rhythm in music
Swing
The act of swinging a golf club at a golf ball and (usually) hitting it
Swing
In baseball; a batter's attempt to hit a pitched ball;
He took a vicious cut at the ball
Swing
A square dance figure; a pair of dancers join hands and dance around a point between them
Swing
Move in a curve or arc, usually with the intent of hitting;
He swung his left fist
Swing a bat
Swing
Move or walk in a swinging or swaying manner;
He swung back
Swing
Change direction with a swinging motion; turn;
Swing back
Swing forward
Swing
Influence decisively;
This action swung many votes over to his side
Swing
Make a big sweeping gesture or movement
Swing
Hang freely;
The ornaments dangled from the tree
The light dropped from the ceiling
Swing
Hit or aim at with a sweeping arm movement;
The soccer player began to swing at the referee
Swing
Alternate dramatically between high and low values;
His mood swings
The market is swinging up and down
Swing
Live in a lively, modern, and relaxed style;
The Woodstock generation attempted to swing freely
Swing
Have a certain musical rhythm;
The music has to swing
Swing
Be a social swinger; socialize a lot
Swing
Play with a subtle and intuitively felt sense of rhythm
Swing
Engage freely in promiscuous sex, often with the husband or wife of one's friends;
There were many swinging couples in the 1960's
Swing
Music associated with big bands and orchestras.
The swing band played classics from the 1930s.
Common Curiosities
When did jazz originate?
Jazz emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly in New Orleans.
What is jazz?
Jazz is a musical genre with roots in African American traditions, known for its improvisational nature.
What's the main characteristic of swing music?
Swing is known for its strong, syncopated rhythms and danceability.
How does swing relate to jazz?
Swing is a subgenre of jazz, characterized by danceable rhythms and big band sounds.
Are all jazz songs suitable for dancing?
No, but swing, a jazz subset, is particularly dance-oriented.
Where can I experience live jazz performances?
Jazz clubs, festivals, and some restaurants offer live jazz sessions.
Are there contemporary swing bands?
Yes, there are modern bands that play swing, often with a contemporary twist.
Who are the main figures of the swing era?
Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, and Glenn Miller are iconic swing musicians.
Was swing only popular in the US?
While it originated and was most popular in the US, swing gained fans worldwide.
How has jazz influenced modern music?
Jazz has influenced genres like rock, funk, and hip-hop, with its improvisational elements and rhythms.
Can a song be both jazz and swing?
Absolutely, as swing is a subset of jazz. A song can belong to the broader jazz genre and the specific swing style.
Did swing evolve from jazz?
Yes, swing is an evolution of earlier jazz forms, emphasizing rhythm suitable for dancing.
Who are some iconic jazz musicians?
Prominent jazz figures include Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, and Ella Fitzgerald.
Is improvisation a key feature in both jazz and swing?
While improvisation is central to jazz, swing often emphasizes orchestrated arrangements, though improvisation is still present.
Is there a resurgence of swing in modern music?
Swing influences can be found in some contemporary songs, and there's a niche community dedicated to swing dance and music.
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Fiza RafiqueFiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
Edited by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
