The origins of syncopation in 20th-century American popular music have been a source of controversy. I offer a new account of this historical process. I distinguish between second-position syncopation, an accent on the second quarter of a half-note or quarter-note unit, and fourth-position syncopation, an accent on the fourth quarter of such a unit. Unlike second-position syncopation, fourth-position syncopation tends to have an anticipatory character. In an earlier study I presented evidence suggesting British roots for second-position syncopation. in contrast, fourth-position syncopation – the focus of the current study – seems to have had no presence in published 19th-century vocal music, British or American. It first appears in notation in ragtime songs and piano music at the very end of the 19th century; it was also used in recordings by African-American singers before it was widely notated.

中文翻译：

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美国流行音乐中切分音的起源

20世纪美国流行音乐中切分音的起源一直是争议的根源。我对这个历史过程提供了一个新的描述。我区分第二位切分音，一个二分之一或四分音符单元的第二四分之一的重音，和第四位切分音，一个这样一个单位的第四季度的重音。与第二位置切分音不同，第四位置切分音倾向于具有预期特征。在较早的一项研究中，我提出证据表明第二位置切分音源于英国。相比之下，第四位切分音——当前研究的重点——似乎在 19 世纪出版的英国或美国声乐中没有出现。它最早出现在 19 世纪末的拉格泰姆歌曲和钢琴音乐中。