Syncopation

Placing rhythmic accents on weak beats or off-beats instead of on the main pulse.

Syncopation is what makes a groove feel like it is pushing rather than marching. On guitar it appears constantly as upstroke strums between the beats, as chord stabs that land an eighth-note late, and as melodies that begin before the downbeat. To play it convincingly the right hand has to keep a steady internal pulse even when nothing is being played on it, which is why teachers insist students count the bar out loud while they practise syncopated figures.

Example: A reggae or funk part where the chords land in the gaps between the beats rather than on them is syncopated.

Syncopation

See also