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8
B. Polyrhythm: simultaneous conicting rhythmic
patterns
1. drum ensembles from Ghana, Uganda
2. gamelan music of Indonesia
C. Additive rhythms: grouping of irregular numbers of
beats
1. beats add up to larger pattern, e.g. 2 + 3 + 3 (= 8)
2. typical of Indian classical music
D. Nonmetric: no strong sense of beat or meter
1. chant of the early Christian church
OVERVIEW
Rhythm and meter define how music moves forward through
time. This chapter introduces the basics of beat, rhythm,
and meter, and elaborates some common ways to diversify
rhythm and meter through more complex patterns of
organ ization.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. To understand the concept of rhythm as the movement
of music forward through time
2. To understand how meter, marked off in mea sures, orga-
nizes the beats (pulse) in music
3. To understand how simple (duple, triple, qua dru ple) and
compound (sextuple) meters are constructed
4. To gain an understanding of the rhythmic complexities
created by offbeats, syncopation, polyrhythm, and non-
metric music
OUTLINE
I. Rhythm: Movement of Music in Time
A. Propels music forward
1. most fundamental ele ment of music
2. notes have length, duration
B. Beat: basic unit of rhythm
1. regular pulse divides time into equal segments
2. strong beats: accented, provide rhythmic pulse
C. Meter: organizes groups of beats
1. meter organizes the ow of rhythm
2. mea sures (or bars): contain fixed number of beats
3. mea sure (bar) lines: vertical lines designate
mea sures
II. Metrical Patterns
A. Regularly recurring patterns of beats; depend on
regular accents
1. downbeat: first accented beat of each pattern
2. simple meters: beats divided into two
a. duple: alternates strong downbeat with a weak
beat (ONE two)
b. triple: three beats per mea sure (ONE two three)
i. associated with dances; e.g., waltz, minuet
c. qua dru ple: four beats per mea sure
(strongest-weak- strong- weak)
3. compound meters: beats divided into three
a. sextuple (compound duple): six beats per
mea sure
i. two main beats (ONE- and- a, TWO- and- a)
4. upbeat: music begins with weak beat, anticipates
downbeat
III. Rhythmic Complexities
A. Syncopation: accents fall on offbeats
1. offbeats: weak beats, in between stronger beats
2. African American dance rhythms, jazz
CHAPTERfi2 Rhythm and Meter: Musical Time
Rhythm and Meter: Musical Time | 9
duple, triple, qua dru ple, compound, sextuple) of the fol-
lowing CD excerpts?
Wayang (Java)
2. Think about the kinds of music or specific songs that are
commonly associated with dancing (such as disco, techno,
TEACHING CHALLENGES
1. Rhythm and meter are much easier to teach if you asso-
ciate some kind of movement or gesture with the learn-
not just those who are volunteering to do so.
2. Students may have trou ble grasping the difference
between simple triple meter and sextuple compound
meter. Should you need extra examples to differentiate
3. Most instructors find polyrhythm and syncopation to be
the most difficult ele ments of rhythm and meter to teach.
congas—is a great model for exploring syncopation and
polyrhythm. (Many examples are available on YouTube.)
For a simple notated illustration of the son montuno pat-
tern (with many examples from the recorded repertory),
LECTURE SUGGESTIONS
the Republic for qua dru ple. Ask students to clap louder
on the beats they feel are the strong beats (downbeats).
It will help if you clap with the students and emphasize
for sextuple meter), emphasizing the secondary accent
every three beats. Try some other examples: Camptown
Races (duple), The Star- Spangled Banner ( triple),
Amer i ca the Beautiful (qua dru ple), and My Bonnie Lies
2. Play Stephen Foster’s Camptown Races and ask the stu-
dents to listen for what is dif fer ent about the rhythm and
accent in the third and fourth mea sures on the syllables
“Doo- dah.” Have the students clap back the rhythm of the
third and fourth mea sures. Which beat sounds accented?
opening of Scott Joplin’s Pine Apple Rag and ask the stu-
dents to listen for the “Doo- DAH”s, or syncopations.
strongly rhythmic; this is an example of nonmetric music.
ASSIGNMENT SUGGESTIONS
10 | Chapterfi2
3. Cage: Music from Changes I (https:// open . spotify . com
4. Otis Redding: That’s How Strong My Love Is
Model response: Duple (compound)
5. Pello El Afrokan: Nace en Cuba el Mozambique (https://
8. Sia: Cheap Thrills (https:// open . spotify . com / track / 27Sd
YOUR TURN TO EXPLORE
in Chapter2 that best define their rhythmic and metrical attri-
METER RHYTHM
Duple ( simple) Syncopation
offbeats
