RHYTHM

Rhythm relates to the time dimension of music.

The fundamental unit of musical time is the Beat.The Beat is the underlying pulse of music and all rhythms relate to the beat. Tempo refers to the speed of the beat. Beats are usually organized into a Meter that groups beats into recurring patterns two, three, four beats, etc. the first beat of each grouping usually gets a stress in traditional music. Each grouping is called a measure or bar.

Duple meter

> > > >

1 2 | 1 2 | 1 2 | 1 2 |

Triple meter

> > > >

1 2 3 | 1 2 3 | 1 2 3 | 1 2 3 |

Direct Beat

occurs when the beat is explicitly stated by one or more instruments.

Indirect Beat

occurs when the beat is implied and not always played.

Deviations from the beat

can occur as