Anticipations in Rock

Description

In the previous tutorial we talked about all the ways you can split up the 4 beats or "the bar" in to smaller pieces or subdivisions, and we scratched the surface of how these subdivisions can be used in the context of rock. Now we're going to look at some more ways to use these subdivisions by exploring what's called "rhythmic anticipations".

This is one of the most common arrangement tricks in rock music, where instead of playing the chord on the first downbeat of the bar, you play it early to create a surprise element for the listener. There are many different ways to use this trick, and in this tutorial we'll go through the most common uses of rhythmic anticipations in rock. Let's get started!