a music genre that originated in the African American communities of New Orleans, blending elements of blues, African rhythms, and European harmonic structures

musical traits such as rhythm and melody that inspire a musician’s work

to create new musical ideas in the moment

a vocal jazz technique where singers improvise melodies and rhythms using wordless syllables instead of lyrics

Piano Backing for scat improviation 90BPM

British English CC

Listen to this example

doo-bah-doo-bop

scat echo on more than one note

Scat echo on one note

Count in - 1,2,3

Count in - 1,2,3,4

Cookie Jar

Don't Clap This One Back

Fruit Canon

Syncopated rhythms in jazz

Music

What is syncopation?

Singing and playing syncopated rhythms

Layering syncopated rhythms to accompany a song

Creating and rehearsing a syncopated performance - building a tight ensemble

Syncopation performance and reflection

This unit introduces pupils to the term syncopation through adding syncopated rhythms to songs. Pupils learn how to feel the offbeats through movement and experience how straight rhythms and syncopated rhythms feel different. Syncopated rhythm patterns form an accompaniment to a range of songs.

Singing for performance: syncopation in songs

True or false? Improvisation can be done on instruments and with our voices.

True or false? Jazz blends African music traditions with European instruments and newer American influences.

the voice we use when we talk to each other

when singers improvise melodies using wordless syllables instead of lyrics

rhythmical speech, often over a musical accompaniment

Which of these is not an influence on Jazz music?

When we {{}}, we make music in the moment, using the voice or instruments, alone, or with others.

a repeating musical pattern that can be rhythmic or melodic

a musical thought, like a sentence in a story

True or false? Syncopated rhythms emphasise the strong beats, not the weak beats.

This lesson will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

Syncopated rhythms in jazz

Lesson outcome

This lesson will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.