Rythmic Flashcards
A tempo
Return to the original speed.
Accelerando
Getting gradually faster. A speeding up of the beat.
Accents / Accented
Notes which sound louder than others. Usually marked with a >
Anacrucis
Where a melody, ot a phrase within a melody, begins with an upbeat.
Andante
A tempo marking which means at a medium walking speed.
Bar lines
Vertical lines, which separate the music into bars usually of equal length according to the time signatures. The end of a piece or a section is usually marked with a double bar line.
Beat
The pulse which is heard in music. The beat, or pulse, is usually supposed to be consistent. The first beat of each bar is often louder.
Compound time
Dotted Crotchets
A time signature where the beat is dotted and subdivides into 3 not 2.
6/8, 9/8, 12/16
Crotchet
A note or rest worth 1 beat in simple time. Filled in and with a stem.
Cross Rhythm
When the accents in the music are different from that suggested by the time signature, or when different parts have rhythmic patterns which work against each other. E.g. 2 against 3.
Dotted Crotchet
Note worth one and a half beats in simple time. Filled in note with a stem and a dot.
Dotted Minim
Note worth 3 beats in simple time. Clear note, with a stem and a dot.
Dotted Quaver
Note worth three-quarters of a beat in simple time. Filled in note with a stem, and a tail and a dot.
Dotted Rhythm
Where a note is increased by half its value, and followed by a note worth half of its original value. Leading to a 3/4 + 1/4 relatioship.
Double Bar Line
The end of a section, or the end of a piece is usually marked with a double bar line - two vertical lines across the stave(s) close together.
Down Beat
The first beat of any baar is known as a down beat, because this is the motion a conductor makes on the first beat of the bar.
Drumfill
A rhythmic decoration played on a drum kit, often at cadences, or regular intervals. The player usually uses most part of the kit for this.
Minim
Note worth 2 beats in simple time. Clear note with a stem.
Moderato
A tempo marking which means at a moderate or medium speed.
Off the beat
When the main accents of a passage of music fall off the beat.
On the beat
When the main accents of a passage of music fall on the beat.
Pause
A device which allows a performer to wait on a note or a rest for as long as they choose for dramatic effect.
Pulse
The sense of forward movement given regularly spaced beats in a piece of music.
Rallentando
A direction to a performer to get gradually slower.
Repetition
The repetition of a musical pattern - Properly called an ostinato.
Rests
Signs which mean a fixed period of silence.
Ritardando
A tempo marking which means to become gradually slower.
Rubato
This is where the pulse of a piece is varied in order to be expressive.
Scotch Snap
A reverse dotted rhythm (semiquaver followed by dotted quaver) found in Scottish folk music - especially the Strathspey.
Semibreve
A note worth 4 beats in simple time. A clear note with no stem.
Semiquaver
Note worth one quarter of a beat in simple time. Filled in note with a stem and double tail - can be grouped together with a beam in groups of 2,3,4,6.
Simple Time
Crotchets
Where the beat is not dotted and divides into 2, 4, 8 etc.
E.g. 3/4, 4/4, 3/8, 3/2 etc.
Syncopation
Strongly accented notes played off or between the beats.
Triplet
Where the beat, ora number of even beats, are divided into 3 in simple time.
Up Beat
The last beat of any bar is known as the up beat, because this is the motion a conductor makes on the last beat of the bar.
Augmentation
When a phrase is repeated with notes of double the value. This causes the music to sound twice as slow.
Diminution
When a phrase is repeated with notes of half the value. This causes the music to sound twice as fast.
Irregular Metres
A technique found in modern music or some ethnic music whereby composers try to destroy the feeling of a down beat by changing the grouping of the notes, and / or changing the time signature regularly.
Three against two
Music where the beat is divided into two in one or more parts and
into three in other parts at the same time.
Time Changes
When the time signature of a piece changes without the music
stopping. (Often more than once.)
