This post is one of a growing series of free basic music theory lessons on my blog, musictheoryde-mystified.com. You can see the complete list here. Please feel welcome to make a comment or ask a question.
A time signature has an inherent hierarchy of strong and weak points within the bar. Syncopation is the emphasis of weak parts of the time signature. This introduces a dynamic interaction between the time signature’s implied rhythm and the rhythm of the part; a sense of going “against the grain”.
The Back Beat
The simplest form of syncopation is to emphasise the weak beats instead of the strong beats. The classic example of this can be found in many popular music genres since the advent of rock & roll; the snare drum playing the “back beat”, emphasising beats 2 and 4 in a 4-beat bar.
A similar effect can be achieved on any instrument by accenting the weak beats. Below is an example of a quaver rhythm, first with accents on the strong beats, then on the weak beats.
Tap, clap or play along to the following rhythms:
Playing Off The Beat
The back beat is only syncopation in the broadest sense. The term syncopation typically refers to emphasising weak parts within the beat a rather than just the weak beats.
The most common example of syncopation within the beat is to emphasise the 2nd quaver of each beat, the “off-beats” or “and”s, instead of the beat itself.
The following example of a bar of quavers uses accents, first to emphasise each beat, then to emphasise each off-beat quaver. Listen to the rhythms then tap, clap or play along:
Listen again and this time, only tap on the accented notes.
Syncopation adds excitement to a rhythm. Even in rhythms which are largely on the beat, the odd syncopated moment adds life to a part.
In the drum rhythm below, there is a brief syncopation is in the second half of bars 2 and 4.
Ways To Syncopate
Syncopation can be achieved in 2 ways:
- by emphasising a note or notes on a weak part of the bar as above, with an accent.
- by de-emphasising a strong part of the bar, in particular by not playing a note there at all. This can be because there’s a rest or because the previous note is still sounding.
Note that when clapping or tapping, there is no audible difference between these two bars.
Zooming In
Syncopation doesn’t just refer to emphasising the off-beat quavers. A more aggressive version would be to syncopate by a semiquaver.
A couple of the rhythms we learnt in 20. How To Read Rhythms 1 had semiquaver syncopation within the beat, by not playing a note on the “and”, the 2nd quaver. We can see now why these felt harder to learn than the others… Here’s an example of a bar with these two rhythms. Tap or play along:
Once you’ve experienced it, syncopation feels quite “natural”. In many popular genres, singers seldom sing exactly on the beat, even if that’s how the melody is written. Instead, they instinctively apply a degree of syncopation so the melody doesn’t sound too rigid. Rhythmic players rely on syncopation to add dynamics and drive.
Learning To Syncopate
Like many rhythms, syncopation is best learnt initially using a metronome. The secret to being able to syncopate is to feel the beat – to know where the beat (or strong beat) is, and then to know what relationship your note has to the beat.
Some musicians find it easy to tap the beat with their foot while playing. If this works for you, then by all means tap instead of using a metronome. However, many find it awkward to tap on the beat while playing off the beat, especially when first learning a new rhythm.
Foot Tapping Tip: In simple time, use the action of lifting your toes between taps to represent the half-beats; the “and”s.
If the rhythm seems tricky, remember to slow down the tempo and zoom in, as discussed in 20. How To Read Rhythms 1.
Ultimately, once you know a rhythm well enough to be able to feel it, you will no longer need the metronome. Metronomes can become quite annoying over time(!) so it’s worth weaning yourself off it as soon as you can feel the rhythm properly.
Mixed rhythms
Many parts, rhythmic as well as melodic, have a degree of variation in their rhythm, often achieved by brief syncopations in between overall on-beat rhythms.
Try These…
- Play the movies below and tap the rhythms with your hand on a bench top, or if you prefer, clap. Listen carefully to the metronome click so you remain aware of the beat…
- Once you’ve learnt each rhythm, play it to a metronome at 60 bpm without the movie. Gradually increase the tempo to 100 bpm or more. You can play along to the following movies of the rhythms at 100 bpm to see how you went.
- Being able to tap the beats with your foot while playing is a useful skill. Practice tapping the beats with your foot, together with the metronome, while playing or tapping/clapping the above rhythms with your hands. As you settle in, stop the metronome and try it by yourself.
Notation Tip
Rhythms are usually notated so that it’s clear to see where the beats are. For shorter notes, this is indicated by beaming. For longer notes, the note is split into shorter notes and joined by a tie (see 21. Note Values 2: Ties).
When crotchets fall halfway between beats, on the “and”s, they can be written as crotchets: it’s such a common occurrence that most musicians, once they see a crotchet after a single quaver or quaver rest, are familiar with this shortcut.
However, crotchets which are a semiquaver off the beat must be split and tied to show where the beats are, otherwise the music is too hard to follow.
In the correct example above we can see that the next note starts just after each beat. The position of each beat is clearly shown by the beaming.
If you found this post helpful, please feel welcome to like, share or leave a comment. If you have any questions, leave them as a comment and I’ll respond as soon as I can. To stay up to date wth new posts, please subscribe.
This post is one of a 2-part series of free basic music theory lessons on my blog, musictheoryde-mystified.com. You can see the complete list here. Please feel welcome to make a comment or ask a question.
NEXT LESSON: B2. Intervals 2: Augmented And Diminished Intervals
PART 2 CONTENTS: Basic Music Theory Course Contents