Syncopation
The following example contains another rhythm figure using dotted quarter notes. This time the eighth note is played first and the dotted quarter note is played off the beat. This creates an effect known as syncopation, which means displacing the normal flow of accents, usually from on the beat to off the beat.
Practice it slowly at first and count carefully as you play, tapping your foot on each beat. It is important to practice all new rhythms with a metronome or drum machine until you are totally comfortable with them.
The Eighth Rest
This is an eighth rest.
It indicates half a beat of silence.
The use of eighth rests on the beat is a common way of achieving syncopated rhythms. Practice this example slowly with a metronome and count out loud as you play.
The Tie
In traditional notation, a tie is a curved line that connects two notes with the same position on the staff. A tie indicates that you play the first note only, and to hold it for the length of both notes. A tie is not necessary in Tab notation where you can just follow the count. The use of ties is another common way of creating syncopated rhythms.
A tie is necessary if a note is to be held over a bar line, as in the following bass line. In this example, the tied notes coincide with the chord changes. Notice that the bass line moves to the root note half a beat before beat 1 or beat 3 on these chord changes. This method of playing is sometimes called giving the rhythm a "push".
To finish this lesson, here is a solo which makes use of everything you have learned so far. Take your time with it and learn it from memory. Take care with the fingerings and rhythms. Once you have it memorized, play it at a slow tempo with a metronome or drum machine. When this becomes easy, increase the tempo a couple of notches at a time.
