Syncopation
Another important aspect of timing, particularly in 20th Century music is syncopation, which means displacing the normal flow of accents, usually from on the beat to off the beat. The two most common ways of producing syncopation is by the use of either rests or ties. The use of eighth rests on the beat is a very common way of achieving syncopated rhythms as shown in the following example.
In this example, the syncopation is produced by both rests and ties.
The Sixteenth Rest
This is a sixteenth rest.
It indicates a quarter of a beat of silence.
Once you start playing more advanced music, you will encounter the sixteenth rest. Here are some typical groupings of 16th notes and rests within a beat. Practice them slowly at first and count out loud as you play. To be sure you are keeping good time, it is important to use a metronome or drum machine with everything you practice.
The next example uses all of the rhythms just shown. There are no counting numbers written here, so analyze where the beats are, copy the music on to a sheet of paper and write the counts under the staff. These rhythms are quite syncopated, so take them slowly at first and be patient. To keep things simple, only one pitch is used here. Once you can play this example comfortably, try applying these rhythms to scales. When that gets easy, write and improvise melodies using these rhythms.
Here is another syncopated example which features the use of both ties and rests along with sixteenth note based rhythms. As with the previous example, take it slowly at first, copy it out and write counting numbers under the staff so you know where the beats are.
