Syncopation is placing emphasis or accents on beats that are unexpected, or, alternatively, it can mean not having emphasis or accents on beats that are expected. A syncopated rhythm tends to add a great deal of variety and “life” to music.

Syncopation in music is the concept of playing rhythms that accent or emphasize the offbeats. It shifts or displaces a standard rhythm by stressing beats generally not stressed. The time signature of a piece of music identifies a consistent pattern of strong and weak beats.

While syncopation is found in many musical styles, Latin music has some of the most complex syncopated rhythms in popular music.

1. Find the pulse of the song.
2. Tap a basic four note rhythm.
3. Identify the downbeats.
4. Hear how the instruments and/or vocals deviate from the stronger beats.
5. Listen for rhythms on the weaker beats.

Form in music is how we structure melodic,… harmonic, rhythmic, and in the case of…a song, lyrical content.… It gives our ideas shape and provides them with function.… Great songs are the bridge that bring the listener…into the world of the songwriter.……

Three Common Types of Melodies in EDM You can arpeggiate a chord and turn it into a melody, you can add notes on top of a pre-existing chord progression, you can use long notes, short notes. Arpeggios: a melody where the notes of a chord are played one after the other. Example (Porter Robinson – Vandalism).

Writing a melody over a chord progression

1. Work out the primary chords of the key you are writing in (these are chords 1, 4 and 5 of the scale and are written in Roman numerals – I IV V).
2. Choose a chord progression.
3. Play your chord progression on the piano using your left hand.