Rhythm & Meter

Syncopation

Definition

Syncopation is rhythm that puts the emphasis where you don't expect it: on a weak beat or between beats, often by holding a note across a strong beat or leaving the strong beat silent.

Syncopation happens when the rhythm pushes against the meter. Normally the strong beats of a bar carry the weight: beat 1, and in 4/4 also beat 3. Syncopation moves the weight somewhere else, onto a weak beat or onto the "&" between beats, so the music seems to lean forward, trip pleasantly or bounce. For it to work you need a steady beat to push against; without one, the rhythm just sounds random.

Two treble-clef melodies in 4/4 with the pitches C D E C, G E C. The first uses quarter notes and a final half note, counted 1 2 3 4 and 1 2 3. The second has an eighth note C, a quarter note D, an eighth note E tied to a quarter note E, and a quarter note C; then an eighth rest, an eighth note G tied to a G eighth that is beamed to an E eighth, and a half note C. Its counts read 1 & & 4 and & & 3. — The same seven pitches twice. In the first line every note starts on a beat. In the syncopated line, D starts on the & of beat 1 and is held over beat 2, E starts on the & of beat 2 and is tied over beat 3, and bar 2 begins with a rest, so the G arrives on the & of beat 1 and is tied over beat 2.

How syncopation is made

A note that starts off the beat and is held across the next beat. This is the classic syncopation, often written with a tie or as the eighth-quarter-eighth pattern "1 & (2) &".
Silence on the strong beat. A rest on beat 1 followed by a note on the "&" makes the listener feel the missing downbeat.
Accents on weak beats. An accent on beat 2 or 4, or on an "&", shifts the weight even when the notes themselves are even. The backbeat of rock and pop is often described as a built-in syncopation of this kind.

Where you hear it

Syncopation is everywhere: in Baroque and Classical music as well as in ragtime, where a syncopated right hand dances over a steady left hand, and in jazz, Latin music, funk, reggae and pop. A common pop-song habit is the "push" or anticipation: a note or chord that arrives an eighth note early, on the "&" of beat 4, and is tied over into the next bar.

How to play syncopated rhythms

Count the subdivision out loud: "1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &".
Clap only where the notes start, keeping the counting steady.
Feel the beats you are not playing. Tapping your foot on every beat helps.
Hold tied notes for their full length, through the beat, and do not let the next note come in early.

Work through Syncopation, and practice counting ties in Write the Counts 3: Triplets & Ties.

Common questions

What is an example of syncopation?

The eighth-quarter-eighth pattern "1 & (2) &", where the quarter note starts between beats and holds through the next beat, is one of the most common. A note on the & of beat 4 tied into the next bar, heard in countless pop songs, is another.

Is syncopation the same as playing on the offbeat?

Playing on the offbeats is one way to create syncopation, but syncopation is broader: any rhythm that shifts the expected emphasis away from the strong beats, whether by ties, rests or accents.