1.1 Rhythm, Meter, and Tempo

rhythm

the actual arrangement of durations in a particular melody

beats

provide the basic unit of measurement for time in music

meter

defined as any recurring pattern of strong and weak beats

measure/bar

any occurrence of meter with a principal strong beat and ≥1 weak beat(s)

duple meter

beats are grouped in 2s or 4s (ex. Yankee Doodle)

triple meter

beats are grouped in 3s (ex. star spangled banner)

simple meter

main beats are divided in 2

compound meter

main beats are divided in 3s

nonmetrical music

music w/o an underlying pattern

tempo

speed of music

metronome

a device which plays regular beats

syncopation

when accents are purposely displaced

language of tempo terms

Italian

adagio

slow tempo

andante

moderately slow tempo

moderato

moderate tempo

allegretto

moderately fast tempo

allegro

fast tempo

presto

very fast tempo

largo, lento, grave

slow or very slow tempo

larghetto

moderately slow tempo (faster than largo)

andantino

moderate tempo, faster than andante

vivace, vivo

lively tempo

molto allegro

tempo faster than allegro

prestissimo

very fast tempo