4 Rhythm, Tempo, and Note

Lengths

It is time now to take a break from pitch values and to look at a parameter of musical sound

we haven’t explored so far—duration. Every sound used in a musical composition has a

particular duration or length. This duration represents its value in the dimension of musical

time. The succession of such values or events occurring in and through musical time is called the

rhythm. In this sense, the parameter of duration is of great importance because it provides the

building blocks upon which rhythm is based. Rhythm, of course, is and always has been an

absolutely essential ingredient of music of all kinds. In fact, without rhythm there probably

could not be any music.

A deep understanding of rhythm is essential to today’s modern computer music producer, especially

when it comes to the process of drum programming. Virtually every recognizable style of

modern electronic music relies heavily on the presence of a good drum or percussion track. And

when it comes to the various styles of dance music, the drum track is probably the most important

feature. After all, it is the beat that we dance to.

These days it is not enough to rely on other people’s loops when it comes to putting a percussion

track into music. Any producer worth his salt will produce his own drum and percussion tracks.

To do this successfully, it is invaluable to listen carefully to percussion tracks, to study and

observe live drummers and percussionists, and to study the types of drums and percussion instruments

used. For example, just what is a guiro? How do percussionists play it? What is the range

of techniques used to play it, and what types of sounds are liable to be obtained from it? Suffice

it to say, a careful study like this can bring your library of drum samples to life. In your imagination

you can hear the guiro player and see how he is playing the instrument. (A guiro, by the

way, is simply a washboard, and a stick is used to scrape it.) Figure 4.1 shows a variety of such

percussion instruments.

A good grounding in rhythm will also put you in good stead when it comes to melodic and

harmonic composition. One of the most important features of a successful and effective bass

line is often its distinctive rhythm. Styles of music (such as house, hard dance, techno, and

drum and bass) are often distinguished by the driving rhythms of their bass lines. Good melodic
leads and riffs also tend to have a very recognizable sense of rhythm about them. Chapter 10,

“Melody and Motives,” goes more deeply into this.

39Harmonies and chords also have their own distinctive rhythm—called harmonic rhythm—which

is the rhythm engendered by the chord changes in a song. And chords are often heard and presented

in a strong and identifiable rhythmic context.

Pulse and Beat

An understanding of the nature of rhythm begins with observation of the world and ourselves as

a part of it. It is immediately obvious that rhythm plays a vital part in the world—in fact, our

lives are totally governed by it. There is the rhythm of the seasons, the tides, and the phases of

the moon, as well as that important diurnal rhythm by which our lives are regulated and

controlled—the alternation of night and day.

Looking at ourselves, we can also see rhythm in abundance—in the beating of our hearts, the

inhalation and exhalation of breath, the rhythmic action of peristalsis, the process of walking.

Rhythm, in fact, is everywhere, both within and without.

So it is perhaps no coincidence to discover that the rhythms of music tend to take their cue from

such natural rhythms. Musical time tends to be divided up into regular beats—pulses of a consistent

duration that emulate those regular rhythms of nature. Regardless of whether the music

has a percussion track, an ability to listen to and understand the music heard often depends upon

an ability to pick up and follow this beat.

Tempo

Once you accept the idea of a pulse or beat, it becomes apparent that the beat can be relatively

fast or slow. This speed is called the tempo. Our psychological sense of tempo is strongly related

to the heartbeat. It has been scientifically proven that beats faster than the average speed of the

Figure 4.1 A variety of different percussion instruments.

40 Music Theory for Computer Musicians