Day 11.

Syncopation

Often chromatic notes are 'syncopated' or played on the upbeat, jumping a half-beat ahead of the count by suddenly switching the emphasis and timing of your notes from the downbeats to the upbeats. Play some of your notes on the upbeats or between the downbeats using the ideas in the paragraphs above about 'chromatic scales.' This is a little difficult to do at first. Work at it repeatedly until you can do it fairly fluidly. If you need to, take an extra day. This skill will add excitement to your playing ! It's a strong feature of Funk and R & B bass playing but can be used in any genre. For example, try playing these segments of a chromatic scale: C, E, F, F#, G, A, Bb, B, every note on the downbeat. Then repeat, starting with the C on the downbeat but play the rest of the notes on upbeats or between the downbeats. Then alternate them. This exercise will help you get the hang of playing on upbeats.

Definition: syncopation: a shifting of the rhythmic accent (the emphasized beat) to the unaccented part of the measure and sustaining the note into the accented part. In Rock bass, playing the note on the upbeat rather than the downbeat. This causes the beat to sound 'quicker' and adds a little extra excitement !

Definition: downbeat: the emphasized beat or beats in a repetitive sequence of beats. Beat = the count. See 'Counting' on the third or fourth page.

Definition: upbeat: the unemphasized beat or beats in a repetitive sequence of beats. The half-beats between the beats that you count 1, 2, 3, 4. 1, 2, 3, 4. 1, 2, 3, 4. ie.: 1, ^, 2, ^, 3, ^, 4, ^.

End of day 11.