Nathaniel School of Music

Piano Hand Independence With Sixteenth Notes: Syncopation Workout (Part 5)

To build sixteenth-note syncopation between your hands, split all sixteen subdivisions of a 4/4 bar unevenly between the hands, with the left hand playing a root-octave-fifth bass pattern and the right hand playing off-beat chord stabs, like a percussionist on bongos or tabla.

Video lesson by Jason Zac · Intermediate · 25 min

Can't see the video? Watch it on YouTube.

Key points

What this lesson teaches

This is Part 5 of Jason Zac's series on sixteenth-note hand independence at the piano. You can follow it on its own, because each part is a separate exercise. It suits pianists who are comfortable with basic chords and want a more rhythmic, groovy style of playing.

In earlier parts, one hand kept the pulse (beats 1, 2, 3, 4) while the other played a sixteenth-note pattern. Here there is no pulse hand. Instead, the two hands share every sixteenth note of the bar between them, so there are no gaps. This is what the lesson calls syncopation.

Feeling sixteenth notes

Sixteenth notes divide each beat into four equal parts, counted 1 e and a, 2 e and a, 3 e and a, 4 e and a. In a bar of four that gives sixteen divisions.

Think like a percussionist

Hand drummers such as bongo, djembe, darbuka and tabla players split their patterns between a low drum and a high drum. Try it on your body: left hand taps low, right hand taps your thigh for a sharper sound. The hands hold a conversation. Avoid simple left-right-left-right alternation, which is predictable; the groove comes from distributing the notes unevenly, with each hand sometimes taking the off-beats.

The chords

The progression is vi-IV-I-V in Eb major: C minor, Ab major, Eb major, Bb major. Each chord lasts two beats, changing on beat 3.

These inversions keep the right hand close together so the changes are easy. For a stronger loop, you can add a B diminished seventh at the end (Ab B D F in the right hand over a B bass). This tense chord pulls straight back to C minor.

Left-hand octaves and fifths

Play each root as an octave: pinky on the root, thumb on the octave. Keep your index or middle finger ready for the fifth: G for C minor, Eb for Ab, Bb for Eb, F for Bb. Do not play all three together, as it sounds muddy; you will play them one at a time like a bass player.

Step-by-step

  1. Left hand simple: play the root octaves only on beats 1 and 3, held as minims, while counting the sixteenths aloud.
  2. Right hand pattern: the chord stabs fall on the e and the and of beat 1, and the same phrase repeats from beat 3. Add this over the held left-hand octaves.
  3. Left hand pattern: a four-note phrase every two beats built from root, octave and fifth. Learn it while simply holding each right-hand chord. Using the sustain pedal on each chord sounds big, but lift it before every change.
  4. Optional check: play the left-hand pattern with the right hand on plain quarter-note chords to lock in the pulse.
  5. Hands together: internalise each rhythm separately, then start one hand, imagine the other, and slowly bring it in. Many students find this easier than expected because the hands fit together.

How to practise

Play the first cycle of the progression plainly, then on the second cycle add the B diminished seventh before returning to C minor. Keep counting, practise very slowly, and play along with the super slow version at the end of the video.

Questions about this lesson

What does syncopation mean in this piano exercise?

Here it means both hands together play every sixteenth-note subdivision of the bar, but split unevenly so that each hand sometimes takes the off-beats. This creates a percussive, groovy conversation between the hands.

What chords are used in the exercise?

It uses a vi-IV-I-V progression in Eb major: C minor (G C Eb), Ab add2 (Bb C Eb), Eb major (G Bb Eb) and Bb major (F Bb D, optionally with Eb). Each chord lasts two beats.

How should I finger the left-hand octaves and fifths?

Put your pinky on the root and your thumb on the octave, and keep your index or middle finger ready for the fifth. Play them one at a time rather than together, which would sound muddy.

How do I put both hands together if it feels hard?

Learn each hand's rhythm separately until it is internalised, then start with one hand while imagining the other. Bring the second hand in slowly and keep counting the sixteenths.

Practise it

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