Rhythm & Meter

Music consists of myriad sounds of various durations. These durations, and their corresponding silences, occur on a measured timeline. We call the durations rhythms and the silences rests. We call the measured timeline meter.

We are naturally aware of music’s rhythmic vitality. Think of the famous opening from Beethoven’s 5th Symphony: da, da da, dum, pause, da, da, da, dum. This short-short-short-long pattern, and its repetition at a lower pitch level, is notated in a specific and interesting way—which we’ll look at in more detail later. The orchestra that interprets this music needs a universal system to organize and corporately count the rhythms and rests. This is meter, the organized timeline that groups rhythms and rests together into coherent musical material.

Within the broad category of meter we need to more precisely define the boundaries of how many rhythms and rests to count in one cycle. Short, repetitive groupings are ideal for ease of reading and comprehension. barlines delineate the boundaries of these groupings and beats make up the groupings themselves. A single cycle (i.e., from one barline to the next) is called a measure.

A time signature defines how we count a measure. The top number defines how many beats are in each bar and the bottom number defines what rhythmic value corresponds to the beat.

We’ve already seen pitches on the staff in previous chapters but they did not have precise metrical meaning. They had duration and proportion but did not belong to beats or measures because there was no time signature to define the context. To understand how to group rhythms and rests into time signatures, we need to understand the underlying hierarchical structure of rhythmic values and their relationship to each other. The rhythm hierarchy chart shows the most common durations and corresponding rests used in music.

To understand how rhythms fit into a time signature, let’s start with a meter and fill it with beats. 2/4 contains two beats in each measure. Each beat is a quarter note. Remember, the top number tells us how many beats are in each measure and the bottom number tells us what rhythmic value corresponds to the beat.

Each quarter-note beat in our example meter can be subdivided into shorter rhythmic values. For example, two 8th notes fit inside the same amount of time as one quarter note. Two 16th notes fit inside the same amount of time as one 8th note. Thus, four 16th notes fit inside the same amount of time as one quarter note.

The notehead for quarter notes and all shorter rhythms is solid black. Half notes, whole notes, and double whole notes use an empty notehead. All rhythms, with the exception of whole notes and double whole notes, use stems. 8th notes and all smaller rhythmic values use flags when written individually or in combination with rests. When joined together into beats, rhythms with flags are beamed together.

Counting rhythms and rests requires nomenclature. We will employ a simple standard method. Let’s use 4/4 as an example meter. Since there are four beats in each measure and each beat is a quarter note, we will count each beat as a number (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4). If we subdivide the quarter notes into 8th notes, we keep the larger count the same (i.e., 1–4) and count the 8th notes as “and,” usually represented by a + symbol.

Subdividing one step further down to 16th notes, we use “e” for the 2nd 16th note in a four-note group and “a” for the fourth note in that same group. Thus, the first two beats of the measure would be counted like this: 1, e, +, a, 2, e, +, a.

Rests are counted exactly the same. However, since we don’t make sound during rests, we can whisper the counts or recite them silently.

Emphasis in music naturally follows the metrical structure. downbeats, the first beat of the measure, are slightly louder and more emphasized than other beats. We call these beats accented. Beats that are not normally emphasized are called unaccented.

Regardless of the meter, rhythms that belong to a particular beat must be beamed together. This is a crucial visual cue for the performer. In addition to beaming according to the beat, you should not obscure the middle of the measure. Keeping beats clear and readable at a glance is like writing sentences with proper grammar and punctuation—your reader/performer will work through the material with much more accuracy and confidence.

Let’s now analyze how Beethoven notated the beginning of his 5th Symphony. You might assume that the forceful nature of the music warrants a strong downbeat. Well, it does, but not on the first note! The first note enters on the “and” of one, a weak part of the beat. The downbeat of the measure is an 8th rest. Why would Beethoven notate it this way? Why would he begin with a rest? The answer is, to give maximum weight to the last note of the four-note figure; the “dum” of the “da, da, da, dum.”

Since the three short 8th notes lead to the long half-note “dum,” the musical figure forcefully moves toward the downbeat. The fermata adds even more suspense and drama to the figure. Beethoven could have notated this in a variety of ways using a variety of different rhythmic values, meters, and beat locations within those meters. But his methodology, which at first may seem counter-intuitive when just listening to it, reveals the underlying metrical structure to come in the music that follows. The short-short-short-long figure is a compositional element that permeates the entire movement and is perfectly represented by the composer’s choice of rhythm and meter.