MEPX
Chapter 3 of 10All chapters
  1. 1Sound and pitch
  2. 2Reading notation
  3. 3Rhythm and metre
  4. 4Scales and keys
  5. 5Harmony
  6. 6Melody and phrasing
  7. 7Form
  8. 8Instruments and voices
  9. 9Music around the world
  10. 10Listening and playing

Chapter 3 of 10

Rhythm and metre

Organising time.

Beat and bar

A steady pulse is grouped into bars, and the time signature says how many beats and of what value. Four four is common time; three four is a waltz.

  • Tempo is the speed of the pulse, measured in beats per minute.
  • Compound metres such as six eight subdivide each beat into three.

Syncopation

Placing emphasis off the expected beat creates the pull heard in jazz, funk, Latin and most popular music. It works because the listener already expects the regular pattern.