Syncopation · Syncopation and off-beats · Music theory
A syncopation is a note that starts on a weak beat, or the weak part of a beat, and continues over the strong part that follows. The point of support is…
Syncopation
A syncopation is a note that starts on a weak beat, or the weak part of a beat, and continues over the strong part that follows. The point of support is not struck: the accent moves to the note that began earlier, and that is where its drive comes from.
It can be written with a single note, if it fits in the measure, or with a tie, especially when it crosses the bar line.
It is regular if it lasts the same before and after the point of support, like a quarter between two eighths, and irregular if it lasts differently, like a dotted quarter after an eighth.
Kinds of syncopation
Besides regular or irregular, syncopations are classified by size. They are measure syncopations when their values are equal to or larger than the beat, and beat syncopations when they are smaller and fit within one beat. One that combines the two is called mixed, and it is always irregular.