Music 48

Rhythm and Pitch

 Key Terms (Rhythm and
Tempo)
• rhythm • compound meter
• beat • syncopation
• accent • tempo
• meter • metronome marks
• measure (bar) • tempo indications
• bar lines • fermata
• simple meter
 Questions
1. How is my experience of time
different as I listened to each
excerpt?
2. What makes the passage of time
feel different in each excerpt?
3. Which excerpt feels longer?
 Rhythm

• rhythm = relationship between

sounds in time
• “a rhythm” = arrangement of longer
and shorter sounds and silences
 Time Concepts
in Western Music
• beat
– regular background pulse
• accent
– extra emphasis on a beat
– regular, irregular, or no accents
• meter
– regular, recurring pattern of accented and
unaccented (strong and weak) beats
 Meter

• simple meters
• compound meter
• irregular meters
• no meter (nonmetrical)
 Simple Meters

• duple meter
ONE two | ONE two | ONE two |
• triple meter
ONE two three | ONE two three |
 Compound Meter

• two or more beats per measure

• quick, triple subdivision of beats
ONE-and-a two-and-a | ONE-and-a two-and-a |
• “Row, row, row your boat…”
 Rhythm vs. Meter

• meter as background; rhythm as

foreground
• meter the yardstick; rhythm the
object being measured
 Rhythm

• can coincide with meter  strongly

metrical
• can play with meter  syncopation
• can contradict meter  implying
the “wrong” meter or becoming
nonmetrical
 Syncopation
• displaces accents
– accents on weak beats
• one TWO | one TWO | one TWO|

• plays with meter

 Hemiola

a type of syncopation in which two

groups of three beats are replaced
by three groups of two beats, giving
the effect of a shift between triple
and duple meter
Hemiola
 Tempo
• the speed of music
• the rate at which beats follow one
another
• metronome marks: exact
60 = 1 beat/sec. 120 = 2 beats/sec.
• tempo indications: approximate;
can express mood
Common Tempo Indications

adagio or largo slow

andante slow, but not too slow
moderato moderate
allegro fast
presto very fast
 Tempo Changes

accelerando gradually faster

ritardando gradually slower
più lento slower
più allegro faster
fermata hold of indefinite length
a tempo at the main tempo
 Key Terms (Pitch)

• pitch • chromatic scale

• scale • half step
• interval • whole step
• octave • flat
• diatonic scale • sharp
 Aspects of Pitch

• definite or indefinite
• high or low
• scale: a pool of definite pitches
• interval: the distance between any
two notes
 Octave

• “eight span”
• higher note seems to duplicate
lower note
• smooth blend of sound comes from
overtone series
 Step

• usually the distance between

adjacent notes of a scale
• suggests a ladder of discrete
pitches
• scale steps: specific notes of a
scale (do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do)
 Half Step (Semitone)

• the smallest interval

• the distance between two adjacent
notes of the chromatic scale
• the distance between two adjacent
notes on the keyboard
 Whole Step

• the most common interval in

diatonic scales
• equals two consecutive half steps
 Scales

• fixed collections of pitches used to

construct music
• diatonic scales
• chromatic scales
• other scales (modern and world
music)
 Diatonic Scales
• contain seven pitches
• octave (eighth note of scale)
repeats the starting pitch
• contains 5 whole steps and 2 half
steps
• examples: major scales, minor
scales, church modes
Diatonic Scale
 Chromatic Scale

• contains 12 pitches
• consists entirely of half steps
• requires sharps or flats
Chromatic Scale
 Sharps and Flats

• flat lowers a note by a half step

• sharp raises a note by a half step
Diatonic vs. Chromatic
 Scales and Instruments

• Western instruments are designed to

play scales
• some can bend pitches
– a little: flute, clarinet, saxophone, guitar
– a lot: voice, trombone, violin, cello,
timpani
– musicians learn to play in tune
 Listening

• chromatic scale
• diatonic scale
• Non-Western scales
 Help on the Web with
Music Theory & Musical Terms

Teoria: Online Music Theory Reference:

http://www.teoria.com/tutorials/index.htm

Solomon’s Glossary of
Technical Musical Terms:
http://www.solomonsmusic.net/glossary.h
tm