Swing in a musical performance as found in Cajun music etc. is more or less that you delay the 2nd and 3rd beat in a waltz, or the 2nd and 4th beat in a 4 to the floor rhythm, but only slightly. Also with Irish and Old Time country music and more .... - Nout

Back in the 70s, I played bass guitar and chemnitzer concertina for a polka band here in New England. We played waltzes and obereks and a few mazurkas along with polkas. The oberek is basicly a mazurka without the bounce. What I would do to add a little punch to the oberek, was to play on the one and three instead on on the one. In Irish music, the reel has a lilt (bounce) to it as does the hornpipe which is written in mostly dotted eighth notes. Scottish music has the strathspey which has a definitive lilt to it. Again the use of dotted notes . As I learn Cajun music on accordion, I see the definite lilt or bounce in the waltzes. I was told by an Irish accordion teacher many years ago that this bounce or swing technique came from the Vikings. Where ever they went, they left their mark as is evidenced in most European folk music. Their music had a definitive bounce to it. Listen to a Rhinelander or a Swedish polka. That lilting eventually found it's way into the Irish music, Scottish music, and pretty much all throughout Europe where they explored and settled.

Thanks Nick for verifying ! I figured thats what you meant. Dana thats an interesting perspective about the vikings. I would have never thought of that. I guess the bounce goes way way... back.

Wow - my Viking ancestors are responsible for spreading "the funk" amongst the white folk. That's awesome.

And to pick up again on the earlier thread of writing about music, there is a fascinating book that digs into the way our brains deal with music (tempo, meter, syncopation, etc, etc...). "This is Your Brain on Music" by Daniel Levitin is a cool read, especially for those of us who are prone to ponder and obsess about such things.