syncopate
Stress weak beats
Syncopate is a music term meaning to shift rhythmic emphasis to normally weak beats, creating a sense of tension or groove against the expected pulse.
Jazz, funk, and reggae rely heavily on syncopation.
The word extends to any deliberate disruption of regular rhythm: syncopated dialogue, a syncopated gait.
In linguistics, syncopate means to shorten a word by dropping sounds from the middle: "ne'er" from "never."
Pleasantly strange or unusual
- backbeatAccent on weak beats
- polyrhythmOverlapping musical beat patterns
- cross-rhythmSimultaneous contrasting beat patterns
- grooveNarrow cut or routine
swing · upbeat · downbeat · clave · meter · tempo · time signature · triplet
Omit in pronunciation
Suspended recreational seat
- improvisationSpontaneous, unplanned creation
- bebopFast, complex jazz style
- compingImprovised chordal accompaniment
- grooveNarrow cut or routine
blue note · ragtime · stride · Dixieland · fusion · scat · solo · ensemble
offbeat
Pleasantly strange or unusual
- backbeatAccent on weak beats
- polyrhythmOverlapping musical beat patterns
- cross-rhythmSimultaneous contrasting beat patterns
groove · swing · upbeat · downbeat · clave · meter · tempo · time signature · triplet · bar
elide
Omit in pronunciation
omit · clip · compress · abbreviate · swallow · slur · gloss
swing
Suspended recreational seat
- improvisationSpontaneous, unplanned creation
- bebopFast, complex jazz style
- compingImprovised chordal accompaniment
groove · blue note · ragtime · stride · Dixieland · fusion · scat · solo · ensemble · vamp
tap
Valve controlling liquid flow
- swingSuspended recreational seat
- CharlestonSouthern Atlantic port city
- jazz danceTheatrical movement to syncopation
ballroom · foxtrot · jive · lindy hop · quickstep · salsa · tango · samba · flamenco · stepping
displace
Remove from proper position
- shiftMovement or work period
- staggerWalk unsteadily, sway
- anticipateExpect beforehand
accent · stress · punctuate · emphasize · interrupt · fragment · offset · alter · modify · transpose
syncopatemetronomic
Precisely regular in tempo
steady · uniform · predictable · four-on-the-floor · mechanical
syncopation, syncopated, syncopating, syncopations, syncopates