Syncopation

The presence of a rhythmic accent at a metrically weak place is called Syncopation. Syncopations arise in various ways; for our purposes, the most important are those that are caused by a note that begins on a weak beat (or part of the beat) and is held through to the next strong beat (or part). Since the beginning of a note is heard as stronger than its continuation, a note held from a weak through a strong beat conflicts sometimes very strongly, within the meter. Syncopation is commonly used in jazz.