Chapter two: simple meters
Dividing Musical Time
Tapping your foot in time while listening to a song represents the work's priamry pulse, or beat. Tap the secondary pulse in one hand while your foot continues with the primary beat; this represents beat division.
*Importnat side note: musical meters are defined by 1) the way beats are divided and 2) the way beats are grouped together into larger recurring unites.
Beats typically divide into two or three parts.
*Important side note: There are two principal meter types: simple and compound. Works in simple meeters have beats that divide into twos, whole compound meters has beats that divide into threes. Simple would feel like walking or marchng, and compound would feel more like a waltz. When beats group into units of two the meter type is duple.When they group into units of three it's then known as triple, and four is known and quadruple. Below is a chart of simple and compound meters:
*Importnat side note: musical meters are defined by 1) the way beats are divided and 2) the way beats are grouped together into larger recurring unites.
Beats typically divide into two or three parts.
*Important side note: There are two principal meter types: simple and compound. Works in simple meeters have beats that divide into twos, whole compound meters has beats that divide into threes. Simple would feel like walking or marchng, and compound would feel more like a waltz. When beats group into units of two the meter type is duple.When they group into units of three it's then known as triple, and four is known and quadruple. Below is a chart of simple and compound meters:
A downbeat is the motion of the hand down on beat one of the pattern, whereas an upbeat is the upward life of the hand for the final beat. Conductors alsu use conducting patterns in order to establish a work's tempo, or speed. Rhythem refers to the durations of pitch and silence, or rests, used in a piece.
Rhythem Notation for simple meters
The wavy line attatched to the stem of a note is known as a flag, and the horizontal line connecting two or more notes is a beam. A meter signature (time signature) at the beginning of a score establishes the meter type and beat unit (note value that gets one beat).
*Important side note: Meter signatures are written with two numbers, one above and one below. The upper number tells you how many beats are in a measurel, while the loweset number tells you the beat unit. Below is an example:
*Important side note: Meter signatures are written with two numbers, one above and one below. The upper number tells you how many beats are in a measurel, while the loweset number tells you the beat unit. Below is an example:
counting rhythems in simple meters
*Important side note: In simple meters, the beat divides into twos and subdivides into fours.
Rests represent durations of silence, and a dot adds to a note half its own value. Slurs connect two more differnet pitches, and legato means that the notes should be played smoothly, rather than detatched. A tie connects two pitches that are the same.
*Important side note: Dots and ties should be notated in a way that clarigies the meter rather than obscuring it.
When an expected metric accent is displaced or moved to another beat or part of a beat - by ties, dots, restsm dynamic markings, etc. the result is syncopation.
Rests represent durations of silence, and a dot adds to a note half its own value. Slurs connect two more differnet pitches, and legato means that the notes should be played smoothly, rather than detatched. A tie connects two pitches that are the same.
*Important side note: Dots and ties should be notated in a way that clarigies the meter rather than obscuring it.
When an expected metric accent is displaced or moved to another beat or part of a beat - by ties, dots, restsm dynamic markings, etc. the result is syncopation.