Notes off the beat: playing on the 'and'
A melody in A minor played only on the 'ands', with the beats themselves left silent, then mixed with notes on the beat and ending on a held A. Rests are where most timing goes wrong: with nothing to play on the beat, players rush the next note. Feeling the beat you don't play is what makes syncopated riffs, reggae and funk sit in the groove.
Opens in the player looped and counted in, with drums playing along, and speeds up 5 % every 2 loops to 100 bpm. No account or microphone needed.
- Goal tempo
- 100 bpm
- Starts at
- 60 bpm
- Length
- 4 bars, looped
- Tuning
- E standard
- Time
- 4/4
- Level
- Intermediate
- Plays with
- Drums
How to play it
Tap your foot on the beats you rest on and play between the taps; the drums' kick and side stick mark them too.
Count '1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and'. In the first two bars, every note falls on an 'and' and every number is a rest: rest, play, rest, play. The melody falls through E, G, A and G, then E, D, C and A.
In bar 3 the notes come in pairs, the second of each landing on the beat; in bar 4 a beat and a half of rest leads into D and C on the 'ands' and a held A on beat 4.
Tap your foot on the beats. The foot plays the rests, and the guitar plays between the taps. If you lose the beat, stop and count a bar before you come back in.
Mistakes to watch for
- Playing the off-beat notes early, as soon as the rest starts to feel long.
- Letting the notes ring through the rests: lift the fretting finger to stop them.
- Tapping the foot on the notes instead of on the beats.
A speed plan
The player starts at 60 % of the goal and plays each tempo twice before stepping up:
- 60
- 65
- 70
- 75
- 80
- 85
- 90
- 95
- 100
That's 16 loops and about 3 minutes before you're playing at 100 bpm. If it stops being clean on the way, stop the ramp there and loop that tempo until it is. With a microphone or an audio interface you can record while you play instead: Demiurg checks every loop and steps up only after two clean ones in a row, and back down after a poor one.
Questions
How fast should I play Notes off the beat?
The goal is 100 bpm in eighth notes, which is 3.3 notes a second. Start wherever every note is clean: the player begins at 60 bpm. Signed in, you can set a goal of your own, slower or faster, on the Exercises page.
What is syncopation?
Putting notes where the beat isn't, between the beats, and leaving the strong beats empty. It's what makes a rhythm push or bounce, from funk and reggae to rock riffs.
Why is resting so hard?
Because with nothing to play, nothing marks the beat but your counting. Keeping time through silence is a skill of its own, and the reason drummers practise rests.
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