Rhythm ---
Rhythm is an essential element of music. In the third meeting of the class we observed how rhythm is measured and used in music.
Rhythm is the term musicians use to talk about the flow of music through time. Since all music moves through time it contains rhythm. The rhythm may be regular or irregular but we tend to enjoy it best when it’s regular.
Though rhythm is the term to denote the flow (movement) of music through time, it is composed of several aspects. Let’s look at those aspects now.
Beat
Beat is the basic pulse of the music that we hear and sense. Normally it is regular (steady) though it can become irregular as a performer slows the music when coming to the end or speeds it up to build to a point of excitement. Beat is what we feel when we want to dance or march to the music. Beat is also the way the music is measured. For instance, we talk about the number of beats in a measure.
Meter
In one sense, meter is the pattern of the beats. It isn’t the notes themselves but the pattern we create with them. A pattern is created when certain beats are emphasized consistently. For instance, look at the following pattern and see if it makes sense.
| X X X O | X X X O | X X X O | X X X O |
Do you see a pattern? Absolutely! If “X” represented when to clap and “O” represented when to be silent you would create a rhythmic pattern. Most patterns of beats occur in groups of twos, threes, or fours.
Here’s another simple rhythmic pattern.
| X O X O | X X X O | X O X O | X X X O |
This pattern may be said to be a variation of the first or it could be said that it’s totally different. Regardless of the attitude toward it, it is somewhat different from the first and could be used in a different way depending on how a performer or composer would use it.
The point is this: The pattern created by the beats makes for a certain element of music we call “meter”.
Notation of Rhythm in Music
- Notes last for a certain number or portion of beats
- The length of notes follows a 2:1 ratio
- Meter is indicated in notation by vertical lines that create units called measures
- The meter signature is two numbers aligned vertically at the beginning of a printed piece of music
- The signature tells the number of beats in a measure (upper) and the type of note that equals one beat (lower)
The “Rhythm Tree” (illustrated below) shows the progression from whole note to thirty-second notes. The notes have the 2:1 ratio. A whole note can be divided into two half notes. Two half notes would be played for the same duration in time as a whole note. This method of relationship continues on through the chart. Also indicated on this chart is the corresponding look of a rest that indicates to the player to be silent for a given number of beats.
Tempo
Tempo is the term used to describe the relative speed of music as it passes through time. Most music, at the beginning of the printed piece, indicates how quickly or slowly to perform the music. Usually this is done through the use of a term in the Italian language. Tempo can also be indicated by a metronome marking the number of beats per minute. A metronome, by the way, is a device that “ticks” out the time in a regular and steady manner.
Syncopation
Syncopation happens when the rhythmic emphasis occurs where it is not expected or is absent where it is expected. Syncopation is an essential part of jazz and adds interest to a musical piece of performed effectively and well.
Polyrhythm
Polyrhythm occurs when two or more rhythmic patterns are performed at the same time. They are heard in some twentieth-century music and are a feature of African music. By illustration, I demonstrated the pattern of beating 3 against 2.
Basic Types of Meter
All music meter is based on the feel of either two beats or three beats as the basic pattern. The two-beat pattern is called duple meter and the three-beat pattern is referred to as triple meter.
Melody ---
We’ve looked at one of the elements already — rhythm. Now we consider melody and harmony. As we do we’ll cover more terms. Those terms are:
1. Pitch
2. Melody
3. Harmony
4. Chords
5. Major and minor
6. Consonance and dissonance
7. Cadence
8. Texture
Pitch can best be described as the actual, identifiable tone that you hear. It can be measured, as mentioned before, in cycles per second. This is the basic rate at which the object causing the sound vibrates. It is also referred to in terms of highness or lowness. As you know, the sound that a cricket creates is made by rubbing the legs together. This creates friction that, as a result, vibrates the air around the legs and cause the sound to be produced. When those vibrations are picked up by your eardrum it goes through your nerves and your brain perceives it as a specific sound.
Melody is a logically arranged series of pitches. Sometimes we speak of the melody as “the tune”. Melody is important because it the main characteristic we remember about a musical work. Melody is also important because the other elements of music support or supplement the melody. A melody also supplies the theme for a song. Melodies have length, range, contour and, at times, decorative aspects.
Melodies can move in an upward or downward manner by intervals. Examples of the space of intervals are given in the following illustration.
Sometimes a composer will add a countermelody to a composition to add variety. When this occurs, it results in something we call counterpoint, which is a texture that can be called polyphony (many sounds or voices). When this occurs above the melody it is sometimes referred to as an obbligatto. Most of the time when we hear this occurring we just tend to think it is adding an interest to the music by embellishing the main melody.
Prof. Songer
JCTC - Downtown
