Musical style of Skatepunk

This article deals with the musical style of Skatepunk and the musical theory behind it.

General
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Rhythm
One central aspect that defines Skatepunk is the sycopated rhythm of rhythm guitar and bass. Syncopation means that instead of the downbeat, which is normally stressed, notes on the upbeats are stressed, this could either be accomplished by adding rests on the downbeat or using suspension, so that longer notes commence on upbeats.

On the right, you can see an example for syncopation in Skatepunk, the first two measures of the rhythm guitar in Craig's Brother's "Insult To Injury". Here syncopation is reached through suspension of notes.

The contrast of the syncopated rhythm that the rhythm guitar and often the bass too play with the straight doubletime drum beat gives a fast song an even faster feeling, as the syncopated rhythm seems to move forward, ahead of the drum beat.



The typical skatepunk drum beat is a fast played variant of a doubletime standart rock beat. In bands that do not emphasize the technical aspects of skatepunk as much, the hi-hats are often not played in doubletime. This basic beat is to individualized by the drummer.

The most commonly used doubletime drum beat variant in skatepunk is the so-called Tupa-Tutupa Beat, where sisteenth bass drum kicks are added before every second bass drum kick. Although there are these basic guidelines for skatepunk drum beats, the drumming in a skatepunk song can be very variable, from different speeds over solistic parts to entirely different rhythms.

Lead vocal melodies
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Song structure
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