science

The Syncopated Clock

The Syncopated Clock is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand The Syncopated Clock rather than just read about it. In short: "The Syncopated Clock" is a piece of light music by American composer Leroy Anderson, which has become a feature of the pops orchestra repertoire. Composition Anderson wrote "The Syncopated Clock" in 1945 while serving with the U.S.

Key takeaways

The Syncopated Clock belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect The Syncopated Clock to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of The Syncopated Clock from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

"The Syncopated Clock" is a piece of light music by American composer Leroy Anderson, which has become a feature of the pops orchestra repertoire.

Composition Anderson wrote "The Syncopated Clock" in 1945 while serving with the U.S. Army and assigned as Chief of the Scandinavian Desk of Military Intelligence in Washington. Anderson had been invited by Arthur Fiedler to guest-conduct the Boston Popular ("Pops") Orchestra during their annual Harvard Night. Anderson wanted to introduce a new work to Fiedler and composed a song about a clock with a syncopated rhythm. The idea of the title reportedly occurred to him before he wrote the music. In a few hours he wrote the music, scored it for orchestra and then mailed it to Boston Symphony Hall. Fiedler had the orchestra parts copied from the score. Then, with a three-day pass, Anderson traveled from his home in Arlington, Virginia to Boston, where he conducted the premiere on May 28, 1945. Anderson recorded the work for Decca Records in 1950 with the best musicians selected from New York orchestras. This was true for all of his recordings for Decca, billed as "Leroy Anderson and his Orchestra". Anderson's "orchestra" was an assemblage of musicians hired by Decca specially for Anderson's recordings. The record entered the charts on March 23, 1951, and spent 14 weeks there, reaching number 12. A version by Fiedler and the Boston Pops Orchestra (released by RCA Victor Red Seal) entered on June 1, 1951, spent two weeks on the charts, and reached number 28. Also in 1950, Mitchell Parish wrote lyrics for the piece, published with Anderson by Mills Music.

Movie theme A version of "The Syncopated Clock" recorded by Percy Faith in 1951 (released by Columbia Records with the flip side "On Top of Old Smokey") was noticed by the producers of a new WCBS-TV program called The Late Show, a nightly program of old movies that was the station's first venture into late night television. Faith's rendition was chosen as the theme music for The Late Show by WCBS and several other CBS owned-and-operated stations around the country, which helped Anderson's composition become a tune that many Americans could readily hum or whistle, even if few knew the name of its composer. WCBS would also use the Faith recording to introduce a weekday afternoon movie (The Early Show), a later-night movie offering, The Late Late Show, and when time permitted on occasion, The Late, Late, Late Show.

Structure

The arrangement requires temple blocks to be used as the sound of the clock that is heard throughout, except for a brief section in the middle. The piece is in 44 time; the opening establishes a perfectly regular "tick-tock" accompaniment, beginning with a roll off the orchestra's staccato strike of an A chord, creating an expectation that it will continue. In the sixth measure, there is an eighth-note rest on the second beat, and two syncopated "ticks" are heard before the "clock" returns to its normal rhythm. As the piece proceeds, the "clock" continues to indulge in brief moments of syncopation. Some are expected by the listener (as the tune repeats the passage in which the first syncopation occurred); others are not, creating a whimsical and comic effect. The song's basic arrangement and comical effect makes it a favourite for school bands. In the bridge section, the sound of an old-fashioned clock alarm ringing goes off a few times. In the coda, a group of sound effects are heard, including a "BOING!!" heard before the last group of orchestral chords.

Cultural references In a sixth-season episode of the television series M*A*S*H ("Your Hit Parade"), the tune is played over the public announcement system during a particularly grueling session in the operating room. B.J. Hunnicutt references its use as The Late Show theme but mistakenly identifies it as "The Musical Clock." It also accompanied the "Silent Minute," a Michael Weisman-devised concept during the pregame coverage leading into NBC Sports' telecast of Super Bowl XX which was a one-minute countdown featuring a black screen with a digital clock which morphed into Roman numerals when it reached twenty seconds remaining.

Other recordings Eileen Barton (recorded December 1950 released by National Records with the flip side "Lock the Barn Door") Rosemary Clooney, as a track on a 4-record compilation of children's music released by Columbia Records Ken Griffin (recorded April 1951, released by Columbia Records with the flip side "Red Sails in the Sunset") Perez Prado (as "The Syncopated Clock Mambo," 1951) (released by RCA Victor with the flip side "Broadway") David Rose and his orchestra (released by MGM Records with the flip side "Mask Waltz") Ethel Smith (Decca Records) in 1951. The Three Suns (released by RCA Victor with the flip side "March of the Cards") Orquesta Narváez (released by Tico Records in their 1975 album Reincarnation) Isao Tomita (released in 1982 by RCA Red Seal Records as the closing piece on an album primarily featuring the Grand Canyon Suite by Grofé).

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with The Syncopated Clock

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what The Syncopated Clock claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to The Syncopated Clock before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about The Syncopated Clock ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of The Syncopated Clock

In research: The Syncopated Clock appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses The Syncopated Clock in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: The Syncopated Clock is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1945 compositions, 1945 songs, Compositions for symphony orchestra, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for The Syncopated Clock outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study The Syncopated Clock in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what The Syncopated Clock means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain The Syncopated Clock out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is The Syncopated Clock in simple terms?

"The Syncopated Clock" is a piece of light music by American composer Leroy Anderson, which has become a feature of the pops orchestra repertoire. Composition Anderson wrote "The Syncopated Clock" in 1945 while serving with the U.S.

Why does The Syncopated Clock matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study The Syncopated Clock?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on The Syncopated Clock.