Syncopation

Lesson 2/62 | Study Time: 5 Min
Course: Rock Guitar
Syncopation

Syncopation

When ties are used to connect quarter notes and eighth notes as in the following two examples, an "off the beat" feel is created. This is called syncopation. When a chord change is anticipated by half a beat, as you can see it is in these examples by the ties across the bar lines, it is described as giving the rhythm a push.

This example uses both rests on the beat and ties on the beat to create syncopation. Notice the use of the first finger across the 3rd and 4th strings at the 2nd fret.

Playing Two Strings With the First Finger

In the following example, the first finger plays both the 3rd and 4th strings. Instead of playing on the tip, the last segment of the finger is flattened across both strings. This technique is very common in Rock guitar playing.

The Common Time Signature

This symbol is called common time. It means exactly the same as *. The following example uses the common time signature.

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Peter Gelling

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Class Sessions

1- Syncopation 2- Playing Two Strings Together 3- Chords 4- Rests 5- Minor Chords 6- Arpeggios 7- Learning All the Notes 8- Using An Electronic Tuner 9- The Release Bend 10- Vibrato 11- Bending Notes 12- The Half Bar 13- Using the Whole Fretboard 14- The Slide 15- The Minor Pentatonic Scale 16- Sixteenth Notes 17- The Triplet 18- Left Hand Technique 19- Moving to Different Keys 20- Moving Between Forms 21- How to Read Music 22- Notes on the Fourth String 23- The Eighth Note 24- Five Forms of the Pentatonic Scale 25- Notes on the First String 26- Scale Degrees 27- Electric Guitars 28- Pentatonic Blues Solo 29- The Symbols 8va and Loco 30- Notes on the Sixth String 31- Music Notation 32- Left Hand Technique 33- Analyzing What You Play 34- The Lead-in 35- Slight Bends 36- Notes on the Second String 37- Tones and Semitones 38- Identifying Scale Patterns 39- Slash Chords 40- Chord Shapes 41- Alternate Picking 42- Rhythm Notation 43- Notes on the Fifth String 44- Vibrato With Bent Notes 45- Power Chords 46- Sharps 47- Jam Along Progressions 48- Notes on the Guitar Fretboard 49- Riffs 50- Major Chord Formations 51- Movable Power Chords 52- Notes on the Sixth String 53- Notes on the Third String 54- Bar Lines 55- Electric Guitar Pickups 56- The Chromatic Scale 57- Chord Symbols 58- Amplifiers 59- Listening 60- Flats 61- Picking the Open Strings 62- Types of Amplifiers

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