Triple steps ≠ "syncopation"

[u/JonTigert]

Please dear God can we stop using this phrase wrong.

What you mean to say is that your triple steps are "swung".

Syncopation describes a moment; swung can describe an entire song.

When musicians talk about it, you don't say you have straight eighth notes and then syncopated eighth notes, that would be a nonsense statement. You say they are swung eighth notes.

If you want an example of syncopation, you could look to the song Castle Rock. That accent in the melody at the beginning is it good example of syncopation.

Syncopation does happen a lot in swing music, but it is not present in a step-step triple step basic in either six or eight counts.

[u/Palaksa]

English is not my native language, i apologize if i am not clear or if i do not understand and need re-phrase.

Also, I am not a musician, i dance lindy hop. I like to discuss those topics around word, rythm ect. If you have recommended read on this topic, i am willing to read a lot.

If i describe a beat as "1 a & a 2", and i triple step by hitting "1 _ _ a 2" ( "_" is silent here). Can't i say that my triple step is syncopated ? In this case, i understand this triple step is an example of syncopation.

Because comparatively, i didnt hit the straight "1 _ & _ 2", which i would describe as not syncopated or straight (i may misuse word here, please feedback if that is the case).

[u/Gyrfalcon63 → u/Palaksa]

Syncopation is not about the overall placement of eighths (the &'s) [that is, whether they are swung or not], but about rhythmic accents that do not occur on the beats. Swung eighths of themselves are no more or less syncopated than straight eighths. You can have syncopation without swung eighths, and you can have swung eighths without syncopation. Something that merely occurs in between beats would not be what a musician would consider syncopation. There are tons of notes that happen in between beats in most music. In general, notes between beats receive less stress than notes on the beats. If you add special emphasis to something in between the beat, that's basically what syncopation is. Length is usually a great way of adding that emphasis, as is pause and separation. It's hard to have that emphasis on the & of a triple step when the second step flows into a longer, held step. You could find a way to add emphasis, but it would be an interruption of the natural flow of a triple step. A normal triple step would not feature syncopation as a musician would understand the term.