<<<<<<<< Back to Modes Rhythm Prior to about 1150, rhythm in Western music was quite fluid and no system had been devised to write down rhythms. Mostly the rhythm of early music followed that of human speech. So, poetry and theatrical expression defined early rhythms. By the time the Gregorian chant appeared, people took the beat of a human heart as “God’s metronome” and tried to apply that meter to important music. If you listen carefully to a Gregorian chant, its pace is about sixty beats per minute – roughly the pulse rate of a resting human. Rhythm has at least five components that need to be understood: tempo, meter, beat, pulse and polyrhythm.     Tempo This term describes how fast or slow a piece of music is played. Fast tunes are called fast tempo or “up beat” tunes.

Meter  This term has to do with what the great American composer Aaron  Copland calls “measured metrical units.”   To convey meter to musicians, composers use a “time signature.” Two numbers are placed, one above the other, like a fraction but without the separating bar. The top number tells the musician how many counts, or beats, occur before the count starts over. The bottom number tells the musician what type of note form (whole, half, quarter, eighth, etc.) receives one count. A time signature of 44 tells the musician that the measured metrical unit contains four counts and that each count is a quarter note.    Generally the bottom number of a time signature conveys meaning about tempo – how fast a piece is to be played. The smaller this number, the slower the music. So although a 34 time signature and a  98time signature produce music that has a waltz-like feeling, the 98 piece will be faster.  Generally music falls into one of two categories – two-beat tunes and three-beat tunes. When the basic beat of a tune can be naturally subdivided into two divisions, the tune is said to be in simple time. When the basic beat can be naturally subdivided into three divisions, the tune is said to be in compound time. Sometimes a single time signature can be either simple or compound. For example a 3-8 time signature may be counted as a cycle of three beats with an eighth note counting for each beat. But it might also be counted as one beat in which three eighth notes are played. The choice is usually obvious from the meaning of the music. Simple Time Time Signature Use Tempo 2 2    church hymns slow 2 4  Reels, marches sprightly 44  Rock, country, jazz, R&B, folk slow to fast Alla Breve “Cut time” show tunes, folk fast to very fast 64   Irish, classical, folk, rock, jazz moderate to fast 128 Strong beats at 1,4,7 and 10. gives a 4-4 feeling. Listen to Norwegian Wood by the Beatles moderate     Compound Time Time Signature Use Tempo 34 Waltz    slow to fast 38  Jazz, jigs  moderate to fast 68  Marches, jazz, rock, jigs moderate to fast 54 Jazz and rock usually grouped 3+2 but sometimes 2+3 slow to fast 78     Jazz, rock, European dance tunes 4 and 3 beats as well as 4,3 and 2 beats. moderate to fast 98  Strong beats on 1,4 and 7 gives  3-4 or waltz feeling. moderate to fast

Beat  The term “beat” is used in two different ways. Sometimes "beat" means the count within the “measured metrical unit.” One might comment on a reel or ballad by saying, “this tune has a rhythm based upon a four-beat structure.” But often, non-musicians speak of the beat as the rhythmic feeling of a piece of music. The drums, the bass, and rhythm instruments like guitar or mandolin produce this feeling of beat. Sophisticated listeners distinguish between the beat of the music and the pulse of the music. Sometimes musicians refer to the pulse of the music as the groove.  In the most simple terms, “beat” is what comes out of a metronome and “pulse” is what you feel when you hear the music. Pulse gives the music life. In the hands of a good musician pulse gives music an organic quality - as though the music was breathing.   Music must have a predictable beat. But, when the musicians and the conductor derive a pulse from the beat, the music gains a special, exuberant life. This is true even in a piece of dance music where consistent tempo is essential. Expressive musicians do not always play on the beat. In fact, they define a “beat window” in order to expand their expressiveness.  A marching band is always on the beat. To lead or lag the beat would be a disaster when every foot in the parade is supposed to hit the ground at the same time.   But, a sad melody or lyric is generally improved by the performer lagging slightly behind the beat. This lag is a mere fraction of a beat and is never written down. It is an interpretative act of the performer.  Listen to great song masters like Frank Sinatra, Sarah Brightman, B.B. King, or Barbara Streisand. When they sing a sad song, the orchestra seems to be pulling them along. At the other extreme, listen to great fiddlers like Alisdair Frazier or Johnny Cunningham play a hot Irish reel and you’ll hear these musicians “lead” the beat. The fiddle seems to pull the band along. This adds to the feeling of energy and excitement. One quality that separates well-performed live music from computer-generated music is the artistic act of leading or lagging the beat. People often criticize computer-generated music as being lifeless. That is because there is no interpretation of the beat window. Some better sequencing programs offer a feature labeled “humanize.” That feature adjusts the melody line to add lead or lag to the beat, and, one hopes, make the music sound more realistic. You may be surprised to learn that many recordings of pop music are made using something called a "click track". The click track is an electronic metronome laid down on tape or hard drive and played back through the headphones while the musicians are making the recording. Individual musicians play their parts one at a time and the entire recording is built up, track-by-track, layer-by-layer, voice by voice, instrument by instrument. The click track ensures that the music is rhythmically "tight". Such recordings are often commercial successes, but to an educated listener this “overdubbing” process often produces lifeless, uninteresting and pointless recordings. The chief problem with such recordings is that they are devoid of verisimilitude. A good performance energizes the listener. But a performance that requires the listener to give energy to pay attention to the music will not be remembered cheerfully. Pulse, beat and beat window are key components of a good performance.   Click HERE to see a diagram of the Beat Window.

Pulse This term has to do with the repetitive surging feeling of music that occurs from some beats receiving greater emphasis than others.  Here are some examples.  44 time is counted as 1 2 3 4   1 2 3 4    12 3 4   1 2 3 4    12 3 4   1 2 3 4                                       beat 1 is the strong beat – the downbeat                                     beats 2 and 4 are the weak beats                                     beat 3 is a strong beat but not as strong as beat 1             34 time is counted as 1 2 3   1 2 3   1 2 3   1 2 3   1 2 3   1 2 3                                     beat 1 is the downbeat and is strong                                     beats 2 and 3 are weak beats   Some musicians use the term “backbeat” to describe rhythmic anticipation.  Each beat can be subdivided.  Here is a 44 example: 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and  Each “and” is a backbeat.  Players often emphasize the backbeat to produce tension and to help lead the music into a transition from one state to another.  Drums and basses rely upon backbeats all the time to keep music flowing.  The backbeat is an essential element in rock and roll.   Backbeat defines the pulse in reggae music.

Polyrhythm  There is no law that requires a composer to use only one rhythm at a time.  Polyrhythm is the simultaneous playing of two or more different rhythms.  African, Latin, Indian or Southeast Asian music may sound very confusing to the Western ear.  In part, this is due to the extensive use of polyrhythmic structure.  Just as Western ensembles have soprano, alto, tenor and bass voices that sing different parts, so other cultures have voices that play different rhythms simultaneously. African drum music creates layers of different rhythms that are interconnected and ultimately unified.  In Western music, pulse seldom spans more than one measured metrical unit.  In African drum music that basic measured metrical unit might be five, eight, twenty or more times longer.  Listen for the high sounding bell – the agogo – to get the fundamental rhythm and meter of an African drumming piece.  Then enjoy the lush and varied rhythms played against the foundational rhythm.  Western music, look for the polyrhythm of “three against two.”  This pattern places a waltz meter (34 time) against a two-beat pattern.  Think of the result of singing The Man on the Flying Trapeze (34 time) at the same time someone else is singing Strangers in the Night (4-4 time).  It seems like the result would be dreadful.  However, take away the words and the result of these two clashing and then combining rhythms is quite exciting. Changing Time Signature.  A time signature is not forever.  Composers routinely change the time signature within a single composition.  This does not often happen in popular music, but listen for it in almost every other form of music.   American composer Charles Ives made his name by writing composition using conflicting time signatures, musical keys and melodies.   Here are some effects of changing time signature:              44 changes to 34                                               the pulse shifts from simple to compound                         two beats in 44become one full measure in 34               44 changes to 6 8                         a quarter note in 44becomes an eight note in 6 8                         the tempo picks up             44 to alla breve                         tempo doubles             34 changes to 68                            tempo doubles Arranging for Dulcimer     On to Dysclocksia >>>>> How to Lististen to Music On to Melody >>>>>>>>>

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