If you write jazz, funk, neo-soul, Latin, or half-time shuffle, you already know what 16th-note swing feels like. That slight push and pull between sixteenth notes — the groove that makes a funk chart sit, that makes a neo-soul ballad breathe. Until now, Flat didn't know the difference.
That changes today.
What's new
- 16th-note swing is now a first-class swing type in Flat. When you enable swing on a measure, you can toggle between 8th and 16th as the swing unit.
- The score displays the correct glyph. 16th swing shows the right annotation — not the 8th-swing glyph.
- Playback applies the right timing. The playback engine now emits 16th-based swing timing for measures set to 16th swing.
- MusicXML round-trips cleanly. The implementation aligns with the MusicXML 4.0 swing-type spec.
Why it matters
Notation is only useful if it captures what you mean. A wrong annotation tells the performer (or the playback engine) the wrong thing. This update is small in scope and precise in purpose: the two most common swing units are now both supported, correctly, end-to-end.
How to use it
When you enable swing on a measure in the Flat editor, you'll see a toggle to choose between 8th swing and 16th swing. Select 16th, and the annotation, the glyph, and the playback all update to match.
Ready to try it?
Flat's composer tools let you write, hear, and share your scores directly in the browser — no download needed. Start composing in Flat.