Off the beat

Syncopation is a hit where the beat is not. The click stays on the beat so you can feel how far off each hit is.

From theory: Western theory: note values

The &

The simplest way off the beat is the &. A pattern that hits only the &s is the heart of ska and reggae guitar.

In notation: an eighth rest (a small mark like a slanted 7) sits on every beat and an eighth note sits on every &. The rest is the silence on the beat, and it is worth exactly as much as a note, so reading the rests matters as much as reading the notes.

One hit on the beat, one off

The Charleston puts a hit on 1 and another on the & of 2. It is only two hits, and it is the first two hits of the tresillo you will meet in lesson 5.

In notation: the dot after a note makes it half as long again, so a dotted quarter lasts one and a half beats, three eighths. The Charleston is two dotted quarters and then a rest: long, long, silence. Counting on the eighth grid, a dotted quarter lasts three columns.

1. Turn on the pattern click and tap the count 1 2 3 4 on your knee. The tap is the beat.
2. Count 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & aloud and clap only the &s, between your taps.
3. Take away the count. Keep the &s steady against the click.
4. Now try the Charleston: 1, then the & of 2.