STRING THEORY
I GOT RHYTHM, PART 4
Eighth-note syncopations
how a quarter unit note, of which individual is the beats foundational in4 4 meter counting and most songs, can be evenly split, or , into two , which across successive beats are counted “1 and, 2 and, 3 and, 4 and, 1 and, 2 and, 3 and, 4 and,” etc., with the “and” counts being called the. That eighth-note pulse, or “feel,” as musicians like to say, is the heartbeat of rock and roll and popular music in general, and this doubling-up of the basic quarter-note beat offers us an interesting variety of rhythmic possibilities, especially when used in conjunction with ties or rests, including eighth rests, which we learned about in I Got Rhythm, Part 3. There are many musically appealing and exciting things you can do with eighth notes in the creation of melodies, riffs and grooves, especially when you also factor in various pitches and articulations. Countless well-known examples of great eighth-note-based riffs abound. Here are a few that come to mind.
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