Rhythm and Meter Musical Time

Rhythm and meter: musical time ● Rhythm ○ Controlled movement of music in time ● Beat ○ Regular pulsations, a basic unit of length in musical time ● Accent ○ Emphasis on a beat, resulting in it being louder ● Meter ○ Organization of rhythm in time ● Measure ○ Metric grouping of beats, notated on the musical staff with bar lines ● Bar lines ○ Vertical lines on a staff that separates measures or bars ● Downbeat ○ First beat of the measure; strongest in any meter ● Duple meter ○ Basic metrical pattern of 2 beats to a measure ● Triple meter ○ Basic metrical pattern of 3 beats to a measure ● Quadruple meter ○ Basic metrical pattern of 4 beats to a measure ● Simple meter ○ Meter in which the beat is divided into 2 ● Compound meter ○ Meter in which each main beat subdivides into 3 rather than 2 ● Sextuple meter ○ Compound metrical pattern of 6 upbeats ● Upbeat ○ Last beat of a measure, a weak beat that anticipates the downbeat ● Syncopation ○ Deliberate upsetting of the meter or pulse through a temporary shifting of the accent to a weak beat or offbeat ● Offbeat ○ A weak beat or weak portion of a beat ● Polyrhythm ○ Simultaneous use of several rhythmic patterns or meters, common in 20th century music and african music ● Tonight : West side story ○ Upbeat, simple ● All music does not have a discernable beat ● An accented beat followed by 2 weak beats indicates triple meter ● Vivaldi, seasons, springs ○ Quadruple, upbeat with a strong beat on one ● Imperial march from the empire - duple ● Im most western music, each measure contains a fixed number of beats, and the downbeat gets the strongest accent ● A strong, regular pulse does not create rhythmic complexity in music ● The number of beats in a measure determines which of the following ? meter ● Meters marked in measures organizes the music ● In triple meter, the accent is the first beat ● When a melody does not begin on the first beat, it is said to begin on an upbeat