# 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.

> Lesson 3 of 12.
>
> - You learn: To play hits between the beats while the beat itself stays steady. This is called syncopation.
> - Why now: The in-between places now have names, so you can use them. A hit placed there, away from your tap, is what makes a rhythm feel like music rather than counting.
> - You need: Lesson 2: the count 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &.

## The &

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

**Offbeat skank**

    hits     . x . x . x . x

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.

**Charleston**

    hits     x . . x . . . .

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.

## Self-check

- Clap the &s for a minute against your tapped beat without drifting onto it
- Play the Charleston and loop it cleanly
- Hear the click as the thing the rhythm is measured against

## Play it on your instrument

- Drums: Move the kick off the beat, between the clicks. (Putting the kick between the beats)
- Guitar: Up-strums only: the ska and reggae skank. (Strumming)
- Ukulele: Up-strums only: the offbeat chop. (Strumming)
- Bass: Push a note a little ahead of the beat, as in reggae and funk. (Grooves: the push)
- Madal: Reggae one drop and other offbeat grooves. (World beats)

All instruments: apply.html