1. Chapter 2: Rhythm and Pitch

2. Key Terms rhythm beat accent sforzando meter measure bar barlines
simple meter
duple meter
triple meter
compound meter
quintuple meter
nonmetrical
syncopation

3. Key Terms tempo metronome marks tempo indications adagio andante
moderato
allegretto
allegro
presto
accelerando
ritardando
fermata

4. Rhythm The relationship between sounds in time
The experience of time in music
We experience time in thousands of ways
Different cultures express musical time in different ways
“A rhythm” is a particular arrangement of longer and shorter notes in a musical passage

5. Rhythm Time concepts in Western music Beat Accent Meter
Regular, recurring background pulse
Accent
Extra emphasis placed on some beats
Music can have regular, irregular, or no accents
Meter
Regular, recurring pattern of accented and unaccented (strong and weak) beats

6. Meter Simple meters Compound meter Irregular meters Duple meter
Triple meter
Compound meter
Quick triple subdivision of the beat
Irregular meters
Quintuple meter, etc.

7. Simple Meters Duple meter Triple meter ONE two | ONE two | ONE two |
ONE two three | ONE two three |

8. Compound Meter Can use two or more beats per measure
Quick, triple subdivision of each beat
ONE-and-a two-and-a | ONE-and-a two-and-a |
Example: Row, row, row your boat

9. Rhythm and Meter Meter background; rhythm foreground
Meter the yardstick; rhythm the object being measured
Rhythms can coincide with underlying meter, play with it, or even contradict it
Some rhythms are strongly metrical
Syncopated rhythms play with meter; place accents on weak beats or in between beats
Some rhythms imply the “wrong” meter; some are entirely nonmetrical

10. Rhythm and Meter

11. Syncopation
Syncopated rhythms displace accents away from normal metric accents
Can put accents on weak beats
one TWO | one TWO | one TWO |
Can put accents in between beats
one AND two AND | one AND two AND |
Syncopation plays with meter
Most effective when meter is clearly heard
Examples: Rudolf the red-nosed reindeer or Give my regards to Broadway

12. Tempo Rate of speed at which beats follow one another
Metronome marks tell us exactly how many beats per minute
60 = one beat per second; 120 = two beats per second; and so on
Tempo indications are approximate
Often in Italian
Can also express a specific mood

13. Common Tempo Indications
Adagio
Andante
Moderato
Allegretto
Allegro
Presto
Slow
On the slow side,
but not too slow
Moderate tempo
On the fast side,
but not too fast
Fast
Very fast

14. Tempo Changes Accelerando; Ritardando Più lento; più allegro Fermata
Gradually getting faster; gradually getting slower
Più lento; più allegro
Slower; faster
Fermata
Hold a note (or rest) for an indefinite time
Temporary suspension of tempo
a tempo
Back to the main tempo

15. Listening Exercises Metrical or nonmetrical?
Regular, irregular, or no accents?
Duple, triple, or compound meter?
Syncopation?
Slow, moderate, or fast tempo?
Accelerando or ritardando?