Rhythm Terms

Question 1

Rhythm

Answer 1

The controlled movement of music in time.

Question 2

Beat

Answer 2

Regular pulsation; a basic unit of length in musical time.

Question 3

Accent

Answer 3

The emphasis on a beat resulting in its being louder or longer than another in a measure.

Question 4

Meter

Answer 4

Organization of rhythm in time; the grouping of beats into larger, regular patterns, notated as measures.

Question 5

Measures

Answer 5

Rhythmic group or metrical unit that contains a fixed number of beats, divided on the musical staff by bar lines.

Question 6

Bar lines or Measure Lines

Answer 6

Vertical lines through the staff that separate metric units, or measures.

Question 7

downbeat

Answer 7

First beat of the measure, the strongest in any meter.

Question 8

duple meter

Answer 8

Basic metrical pattern of two beats to a measure.

Question 9

triple meter

Answer 9

Basic metrical pattern of three beats to a measure.

Question 10

Quadruple meter

Answer 10

Basic metrical pattern of four beats to a measure. Also common time.

Question 11

Simple Meter

Answer 11

Grouping of rhythms in which the beat is subdivided into two, as in duple, triple, and quadruple meters.

Question 12

Compound Meter

Answer 12

Meter in which each beat is subdivided into three rather than two.

Question 13

Sextuple Meter

Answer 13

Compound metrical pattern of six beats to a measure.

Question 14

Upbeat

Answer 14

Last beat of a measure, a weak beat, which anticipates the downbeat.

Question 15

Syncopation

Answer 15

Deliberate upsetting of the meter or pulse through a temporary shifting of the accent to a weak beat or an offbeat.

Question 16

Offbeat

Answer 16

A weak beat or any pulse between the beats in a measured rhythmic pattern.

Question 17

Polyrhythm

Answer 17

The simultaneous use of several rhythmic patterns or meters, common in twentieth-century music and in certain African musics.

Question 18

Additive Meter

Answer 18

Patterns of beats that subdivide into smaller, irregular groups (e.g., 2 + 3 + 2 + 3 = 10); common in certain Eastern European musics.

Question 19

Nonmeter

Answer 19

Music lacking a strong sense of beat or meter, common in certain non-Western cultures.