Syncopated Tie
A note begun on a weak beat that is held over into the following strong beat, often producing a syncopated effect.
What it means
In older part-writing theory, this term describes a note struck on a weak beat that continues sounding through the following strong beat rather than being struck again there. The note is thus "tied over" from the weak to the strong beat.
Shifting the attack away from the metric emphasis produces a typically syncopated effect, in which the ear perceives the actual strong beat as empty or delayed.
In the notation
It is notated like an ordinary tie between two notes of the same pitch, with the second note falling on the strong beat and not being restruck.
Musical use
This pattern underlies syncopation and appears in a wide range of musical contexts, from vocal polyphony to jazz and popular music, where shifted accents are an essential rhythmic device.
It should be distinguished from the ordinary tie, which simply joins two notes of the same pitch regardless of whether a metric downbeat is bridged, and from syncopation as the broader concept for shifted accents, which can also arise without a tie, for instance through accentuation alone.
Performance practice
When playing or singing such a tied-over note, keep it sounding steadily through the strong beat without re-articulating it. The rhythmic interest comes precisely from the expected accent being absent; bring this effect out deliberately rather than smoothing it over.