Syncopation is a displacement of the natural rhythmic accent of the measure: a note starts on a weak beat or weak part of a beat and keeps sounding through the next strong beat, usually written with a tie. The strong beat is "swallowed": it is not attacked again, and the accent is felt earlier than the meter would lead you to expect. Syncopation is a key idea for understanding rhythmic accents and an essential expressive tool in jazz, blues, Latin music and pop.
Formal definition
In classical theory, syncopation happens when a note:
- Starts on a weak beat or weak part of the measure.
- Continues, usually through a tie, into the strong beat or strong part that follows immediately.
- Is not attacked again on that strong beat or part: the natural accent is covered by the earlier note.
What matters is the sound, not the spelling. A tie (the curved line joining two notes of the same pitch) is the usual way to write a note that crosses a strong position, but a single longer note value does the same job. The key point is that the strong position is covered by a sustained note. If the strong position is instead a rest, the figure is an off-beat note, not syncopation.
Types of syncopation
Depending on the metrical level where the displacement happens, there are three types:
| Type | Where it starts | What it covers | Typical example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Measure syncopation | Weak beat of measure N | Strong beat of measure N+1 | A note at the end of a measure tied to the start of the next |
| Beat syncopation | Weak or medium beat inside the measure | The next strong or medium beat | A note on beat 2 tied to beat 3 in 4/4 |
| Part-of-beat syncopation | Weak part of a beat | The strong part of the next beat | A note on the "and" of a beat tied to the whole next beat |
Beat syncopation in 4/4: staff example
The most frequent example in quadruple meter (4/4) is beat syncopation: a note starts on weak beat 2 and is tied to beat 3, a medium (secondary strong) beat, which is covered.
Part-of-beat syncopation in 4/4: staff example
In part-of-beat syncopation, the note starts on the weak part of a beat (the "and" when the beat is divided into eighth notes) and is tied across the strong part of the next beat.
Measure syncopation: staff example
Measure syncopation crosses the bar line: a note on a weak beat of the measure is tied to the first, strong beat of the next measure.
Syncopation in triple and compound meters
In 3/4, the most common syncopation is a note that starts on beat 2 and is tied to beat 3, or a note on beat 3 tied to beat 1 of the next measure. The waltz and the minuet have moments of syncopation that briefly break the regular strong-weak-weak pattern.
In compound meters (6/8, 9/8...) syncopation also happens between the parts of a compound beat. A note that starts on a weak eighth note (the 2nd or 3rd of a group of three) and is tied across the next strong eighth is syncopated. This includes a note on the last eighth of a beat tied to the first eighth of the next beat, or a note on the last eighth of the measure tied across the bar line.
Difference between syncopation and off-beat notes
The two ideas are related but distinct:
| Syncopation | Off-beat note | |
|---|---|---|
| Attack | On a weak beat or weak part | On a weak beat or weak part |
| Strong beat | Covered (the note is sustained into it) | Silent (there is a rest) |
| Tie | Needed (or one long note) | None |
| Effect | The accent is shifted to the weak position | Accent on the weak position, strong beat left silent |
In practice, both create a similar effect of "displaced energy", but syncopation tends to sound more flowing because there is no rest on the strong beat, while an off-beat note has a sharper, more detached character. See the page on off-beat notes for more.
Syncopation in popular music
Syncopation is the basis of the rhythmic character of jazz, funk and bossa nova. In jazz, the melody rarely follows the strong beats of the measure: musicians anticipate harmonic changes by attacking on the "and" before the chord change, which creates a feeling of forward drive. In bossa nova, the guitar pattern is built on syncopations that keep challenging the listener's expectations. Reggae is a related case: the guitar "skank" on the "and" of each beat is mostly a matter of off-beats (rests on the beat) rather than syncopation in the strict sense, while the bass lines often use true syncopation.
Practice: test whether you can find the syncopation with our interactive exercise: tap the note where it starts on the staff, or choose "no syncopation" if the excerpt has none.