Rhythm reading lessons › Lesson 7 of 19
Notes that start off the beat and ring through it.
Syncopation puts the clap on the "and" and holds it through the next beat, so the beat itself is silent. The pattern eighth, quarter, eighth is the classic one.
A tie joins two notes into one: clap only the first. Keep the click in your head when nothing is clapped on the beat.
| Figure | Count | Kodály syllables |
|---|---|---|
| Eighth-quarter-eighth | 1 & (2) & | syn-co-pa |
| Tied note | clap the first, hold the second | (no new syllable) |
Normally the strongest notes fall on the beats. Syncopation moves the weight to a place between two beats and keeps the note sounding while the next beat goes by. The ear expects a new note on the beat and does not get one. That small surprise gives syncopated music its lift.
Count "1 & 2 &". Clap on 1, clap on the first "&" and hold that note through 2, then clap on the second "&". Beat 2 is felt but not clapped.
A tie gives the same result with different notation. Two eighth notes tied across the beat sound exactly like the quarter note in the middle of this figure, so you clap only the first of the two.
Tap your foot on every beat while you clap, and do not let the foot follow the hands. If that is hard, clap straight eighth notes and simply leave out the clap on beat 2. Ragtime, such as Scott Joplin's piano pieces, is built almost entirely on this figure, and so is a great deal of pop, jazz and Latin music.