Just as notes are related to one another in terms of pitch, the other main component of music, rhythm, concerns how notes occur in relation to one another throughout time. Music takes place in reference to a beat, or a regularly recurring emphasis, like a pulse. In the same way that a tonal center gives context within which pitches can convey meaning, a beat gives a framework within which music can be experienced. Notes’ placement in relation to the beat create rhythmic meaning.
Music’s tempo refers to the pace of the beat. In western music, beats are officially measured in relation to minutes as indicated by the marking of bpm, or “beats per minute.” In the same way that a song's starting note can change, although the relationships between the pitches must stay the same; a song's tempo can change, although the placement of notes in relation to the beat must stay the same to preserve the rhythmic character.
Beats exist within a subjective hierarchy, and are generally experienced as “strong” or “weak beats”. The first beat within
each group of either two or three possesses an innate emphasis. Beats can be subdivided or grouped infinitely into smaller or larger beats. For example, the beats of a song may be experienced in multiples of two groups of three. Measures are groups of beats that have one clear downbeat, or strong first beat. A song's beat pattern is known as its meter. The most commonly used meter in Western music is the four-beat measure.
In written music, the relative duration of notes or rests (the space between notes) is notated through symbols. One note symbol is designated as having the duration of one beat (commonly the quarter note), and all other rhythmic values are interpreted in relation. A song’s time signature, typically placed at the beginning of a score, indicates how many beats are in each measure and what note value represents the beat. The consecutive durations of notes or rests must equal the number of beats in a measure as designated by the time signature.
Notes’ alignment with or evasion of the beat creates rhythmic character. Syncopation is a commonly used technique in which weaker beats are intentionally emphasized or strong beats are avoided. Music's rhythm is typically characterized by an integration of expectation and surprise, and specific emphases and de-emphases of the beat, often occurring on multiple levels simultaneously.
Commenti