How to Stop Getting Thrown Off By Syncopated Rhythms

Last night...

I'm in my living room trying to open a stuck window.

It won't budge – not even a little. So, I grip the top of the frame with both hands and pull up as hard as I can.

Before I know it, the window flies up and my fingers get caught between the frame and the wood trim.

I double over...can't scream...kids asleep...stumble into the kitchen...open freezer drawer with my toes...shove hands in a bag of frozen berries.

I haven't felt this kind of pain in a long, long time – it's even worse than when I broke my hand in jiu jitsu.

I make it to the couch. While waiting to go numb from the frozen fruit, I try to distract myself by watching a movie.

Eventually I'm able to zone out, and the pain downgrades from unbearable stabbing to a slightly more tolerable throbbing.

Fortunately, the only actual damage was a couple of badly bruised fingernail beds.

And the silver lining is that watching that movie inspired this post – not the film itself but the idea of distraction and how it's great for pain management…but terrible for rhythm.

I’ll explain…

Are you familiar with syncopation?

Syncopation is the accentuation of beats that aren't normally accentuated, such as offbeats and weak beats.

But because those offbeats are emphasized, syncopated rhythms direct attention away from the true pulse of a song.

Put another way, syncopation can be dangerously distracting and can cause you to lose the time, the beat, and your place in the form.

So, how do you keep syncopation from throwing you off?

The short answer is to subdivide.

At least that's what all my music teachers told me to do when I was in school.

But the truth is, it's the way in which you subdivide that makes all the difference.

And after years of frustration and confusion with rhythm and syncopation, I finally came up with a series of techniques that actually made a difference in my playing.

It still boggles my mind that none of those teachers taught me these techniques. I guess they didn't know them to begin with.

But that's why I'm so excited to share with you my syncopation secrets. And I spill all the syncopation beans in my course, Phrasing Secrets, which I'm promoting the hell out of right now because this week—and only this week—everyone who enrolls also gets access to an extra bonus called the Triplet Grid series.

This hot-off-the-press video series is a "practice-with-me" session where I'll walk you through an unusual rhythm exercise that will: 

  • Strengthen your time to stop you from slowing down and speeding up

  • Improve your swing feel so that even the simple stuff you play will sound great

  • Give you the confidence you need for playing syncopated rhythms without having to rely on a metronome or backing track

  • And so much more

Also, I’ve got sweet discount code for ya...

Enter 40SECRETS when you check out at the link below to save a ridonculous 40% on Phrasing Secrets.

Just remember, the bonus offer and discount code expire at the end of the week, so clickety clack the link to get started now:

Click here to learn more about Phrasing Secrets and get the Triplet Grid bonus series at no extra cost.

Happy shedding,

Jeff

P.S. Don't forget to click that checkmark after entering the code (40SECRETS), or the discount won't go through. Click here to enroll in Phrasing Secrets before all the goodies expire.

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Transcribing Entire Solos is a Total Waste of Time, Right?

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The Exercise That Fixed Her Hokey Swing Feel