Music Terms - Rhythm and Meter

• Alla Breve - two beats per measure, with each beat represented by a half note. Two different time signatures can be used as seen in this example:

• Anacrusis - incomplete first measure, also referred to as the upbeat or pickup note(s).

• Beat - a specific moment in time, usually regular but sometimes irregular, that organizes music into groups, usually of two, three, or four. In plain words, it is what we tap our foot to. Beats are usually found in groups of strong and weak, such as in duple meter, where the first beat is stronger and the second beat is weaker. Beats are the primary music phenomena that organize music into units of time. A beat may also be called a pulse.

• Compound Meter - the beat is divided into three equal parts called divisions.


Characteristics of Compound Meter

• *The beat is divided into three equal parts called divisions. This is contrasted with simple meter where the beat is divided into two equal parts, also called divisions.
• *Beats are represented by dotted notes which can be equally divided into three divisions of the beats.
• *The top number is 6, 9, or 12, representing duple, triple, and quadruple meter.
• *The top number divided by three equals the number of beats per measure. In this example, 6/3 = 2 beats.
• *The top number represents the number of divisions of the beats per measure. (Only in slow tempos does it represent the number of beats per measure.) In the example above, there are six divisions of the beats, represented by eighth notes.
• *The bottom number represents the note equal to one division of a beat (except in slow tempos where it represents a beat). It will always be a multiple of two in the series 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64.
• *The bottom number represents the rhythmic value of whole (1), half (2), quarter (4), eighth (8), sixteenth (16), thirty-second (32), and sixty-fourth (64) notes.
• Simple Meter - the beat is divided into two equal parts called divisisions.


Characteristics of Simple Meter

• *The beat is divided into two equal parts called divisions. This is contrasted with compound meter where the beat is divided into three equal parts, also called divisions.
• *Beats are represented by un-dotted notes which can be equally divided into two divisions.
• *The top number is 2, 3, or 4, representing duple, triple, or quadruple meter.
• *The top number represents the number of beats per measure. In the example above, "2" = 2 beats per measure.
• *The bottom number represents the note equal to one division of a beat.
• *The bottom number represents the rhythmic value of whole (1), half (2), quarter (4), eighth (8), sixteenth (16), thirty-second (32), and sixty-fourth (64) notes.
• Common Time - four beats per measure, with each beat represented by a quarter note. This is the most "common" time signature.

• Cut Time - two beats per measure, with each beat represented by a half note.The same as Alla Breve.
• Downbeat - first beat of a measure
• Duplet - two equal notes played in the time usually taken by three equal notes.

• Triplet - three equal notes played in the time usually take by two equal notes.

• Hemiola - a combination of rhythms in a ratio of three against two or two against three.

• Irregular Meter - the length of the beat changes within a measure, such as a first beat equal to three eighth notes and a second beat equal to only two. Same as asymetrical meter
• Asymmetrical Meter - the length of the beat changes within a measure, such as a first beat equal to three eighth notes and a second beat equal to only two. Same as irregular meter

The division notes (eighth notes in this example) divide the beats into two equal parts or three equal parts in the following fashion: If the beat is equal to a dotted note, the division will be into three equal parts. If the beat is equal to an un-dotted note, the division will be into two equal parts. This can be thought of as a back-to-back succession of compound and simple meters in the span of one measure: Some beats are divided into three equal parts, while others are divided into two equal parts. The division notes are always constant, flowing continually despite the changing beat length. A similar effect might be produced by saying "Raspberry fruit pie" if each syllable is given the same amount of time, robotically.
• Duple Meter - two beats per measure.

• Triple Meter - three beats per measure.

• Quadruple Meter - four beats per measure

• Division of the beat - the way the beat is divided into smaller equal parts. In compound meter the beat is divided into three equal parts, whereas simple meter divides the beats into two equal parts.
• Subdivision - the way the division of a beat is further divided. The hierarchy is beat-division-subdivision.


Beat




Division




Subdivision




All Three




Beat

Division

Subdivision

All Three

• Rhythm - specific durations of time, represented by notes, rests, and articulation marks.
• Meter - a system of indicating how beats are organized into groups, and what specific note values represent a beat. Indicated by a time signature.
• Sycopation - a rhythmic device where notes are articulated in between the beats, resulting in the beat being obscured. Accents and other rhythmic parameters may also be used to offset the standard pulse of the time signature.

• Tempo - the speed of the beat, often notated with a tempo marking that shows a note equaling a speed in beats per minutes (bpm). Here are four examples at various tempos, each one with a tempo marking on the upper left that displays the note value equaling a beat and the number of them to be played in a minute (beats per minute.

• Upbeat - incomplete first measure, also referred to as the anacrusis or pickup note(s).