You can either click directly on the piano keys with your mouse, or click the corresponding letters on your keyboard's middle row. The goal is to match the melody as it plays in the background. Syncopation Melody Imagine a loudly ticking clock. The normal melody notes of Mary Had a Little Lamb match the ticking of the clock exactly. As you look at the notes on the musical staff, notice how there are a few more notes and a few more rests.
Musicians use slurs and bent notes to convey a feeling or emotion.
Even though the notes of the melody now look radically different on the musical staff, you should still be able to hear the familiar tune. Improvisation Melody Improvisation is when musicians use slurs, bent notes and syncopation in order to recreate the melody in new and interesting ways. Just as no two artists would paint the same scene the same way, no two musicians improvise a melody in the same way. You can see from the notes on the musical staff that some are normal, some are slurred, and some are syncopated. Skillful jazz musicians are able to combine all of these techniques to create new works of art right off the top of their head.