View source for Rhythm

{{short description|Aspect of music}}
{{other uses}}
'''Rhythm''' (from [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] {{lang|grc|ῥυθμός}}, ''rhythmos'', "any regular [[repetition (music)|recurring]] motion, [[symmetry#Symmetry in music|symmetry]]"{{sfn|Liddell and Scott|1996}}) generally means a "[[motion|movement]] marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions".{{sfn|Anon.|1971|p=2537}} This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time can apply to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a [[Frequency|periodicity]] or [[frequency]] of anything from microseconds to several seconds (as with the [[riff]] in a rock music song); to several minutes or hours, or, at the most extreme, even over many years.

The [[Oxford English Dictionary]] defines rhythm as ''"The measured flow of words or phrases in verse, forming various patterns of sound as determined by the relation of long and short or stressed and unstressed syllables in a metrical foot or line; an instance of this"''.<ref name="OED">{{Citation |title=rhythm, n. |date=2023-03-02 |work=Oxford English Dictionary |url=https://oed.com/dictionary/rhythm_n |access-date=2024-11-11 |edition=3 |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/oed/4307024692|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Rhythm is related to and distinguished from pulse, meter, and beats:
{{Blockquote|Rhythm may be defined as the way in which one or more unaccented beats are grouped in relation to an accented one. ... A rhythmic group can be apprehended only when its elements are distinguished from one another, rhythm...always involves an interrelationship between a single, accented (strong) beat and either one or two unaccented (weak) beats.{{sfn|Cooper|Meyer|1960|p=6}}}}

In the [[performance arts]], rhythm is the timing of events on a human scale; of [[music|musical sounds and silences]] that occur over time, of the steps of a dance, or the meter of spoken [[language]] and poetry. In some performing arts, such as [[hip hop music]], the rhythmic delivery of the lyrics is one of the most important elements of the style. Rhythm may also refer to visual presentation, as "timed movement through space"{{sfn|Jirousek|1995}} and a common language of [[pattern]] unites rhythm with geometry. For example, [[architecture|architects]] can speak of the rhythm of a building, referring to patterns in the spacing of windows, columns, and other elements of the [[façade]]. Rhythm and meter have become an important area of research among music scholars. Recent work in these areas includes books by [[Maury Yeston]],{{sfn|Yeston|1976}} [[Fred Lerdahl]] and [[Ray Jackendoff]],{{sfn|Lerdahl and Jackendoff|1983}} [[Godfried Toussaint]],{{sfn|Toussaint|2005}} William Rothstein,{{sfn|Rothstein|1989}} Joel Lester,{{sfn|Lester|1986}}[[Guerino Mazzola]] and Steffen Krebber.{{sfn|Krebber|2023}}

==Anthropology==
[[File:Traditional indonesian instruments02.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Percussion instruments have clearly defined sounds that aid the creation and perception of complex rhythms.]]

In his television series ''How Music Works'', [[Howard Goodall]] presents theories that human rhythm recalls the regularity with which we walk and the heartbeat.{{sfn|Goodall|2006|loc=0:03:10}} Other research suggests that it does not relate to the heartbeat directly, but rather the speed of emotional affect, which also influences heartbeat. Yet other researchers suggest that since certain features of human music are widespread, it is "reasonable to suspect that beat-based rhythmic processing has ancient evolutionary roots".{{sfn|Patel|2014|p=1}} Justin London writes that musical metre "involves our initial [[perception]] as well as subsequent anticipation of a series of beats that we abstract from the rhythm surface of the music as it unfolds in time".{{sfn|London|2004|p=4}} The "perception" and "abstraction" of rhythmic measure is the foundation of human instinctive musical participation, as when we divide a series of identical clock-ticks into "tick-tock-tick-tock".{{sfn|Scholes|1977b}}{{sfn|Scholes|1977c}}

{{Image frame|content=<score raw="1" sound="1">
\version "2.22.0"
\header { tagline = ##f}
\score {
  \drums \with {midiInstrument = "drums"}
  \with { \numericTimeSignature }
  {
    \repeat volta 2 {
      <<
        \tempo 4 = 80-160
        \bar ".|:"
        {
          cymra8 [cymra] cymra [cymra]  cymra [cymra] cymra [cymra]
        }\\{bd4 sne bd sne}
      >>\break
    }
  }
  \layout {}
}
\score {
  \unfoldRepeats {
    \drums \with {midiInstrument = "drums"}{
      \repeat volta 2 {

        <<
          \tempo 4 = 80-160
          \bar ".|:"
          {
            cymra8 [cymra] cymra [cymra]  cymra [cymra] cymra [cymra]
          }\\{bd4 sne bd sne}
        >>\break
      }
    }
  }
  \midi { \tempo  4 = 90 }
}
</score>|width=300|align=right|caption=A simple [quadr][[duple meter|duple]] [[drum pattern]], which lays a foundation of duration common in popular music|max-width=300}}

[[Joseph Jordania]] recently suggested that the sense of rhythm was developed in the early stages of [[hominid]] evolution by the forces of [[natural selection]].{{sfn|Jordania|2011|pp=99–101}} Plenty of animals walk rhythmically and hear the sounds of the heartbeat in the womb, but only humans have the ability to be engaged ([[Entrainment (biomusicology)|entrained]]) in rhythmically coordinated vocalizations and other activities. According to Jordania, development of the sense of rhythm was central for the achievement of the specific neurological state of the battle trance, crucial for the development of the effective defense system of early hominids. Rhythmic [[Battle cry|war cry]], rhythmic drumming by [[shaman]]s, rhythmic [[drilling]] of the soldiers and contemporary professional combat forces listening to the heavy rhythmic rock music{{sfn|Pieslak|2009|p={{Page needed|date=April 2016}}}} all use the ability of rhythm to unite human individuals into a shared [[collective identity]] where group members put the interests of the group above their individual interests and safety.

Some types of parrots can know rhythm.{{sfn|Anon.|2009}} Neurologist [[Oliver Sacks]] states that [[chimpanzee]]s and other animals show no similar appreciation of rhythm yet posits that human affinity for rhythm is fundamental, so that a person's sense of rhythm cannot be lost (e.g. by stroke). "There is not a single report of an animal being trained to tap, peck, or move in synchrony with an auditory beat",<ref>{{harvnb|Patel|2006}}, cited in {{harvnb|Sacks|2007|pp=239–240}}</ref> Sacks write, "No doubt many pet lovers will dispute this notion, and indeed many animals, from the [[Lipizzan]]er horses of the [[Spanish Riding School]] of Vienna to performing circus animals appear to 'dance' to music. It is not clear whether they are doing so or are responding to subtle visual or tactile cues from the humans around them."{{sfn|Sacks|2007|pp=239–240}} Human rhythmic arts are possibly to some extent rooted in courtship ritual.{{sfn|Mithen|2005|p={{Page needed|date=July 2014}}}}

[[File:Compound triple drum pattern.png|thumb|Compound triple drum pattern: divides three beats into three; contains repetition on three levels [[File:Compound triple drum pattern.mid|thumb|left]]]]

The establishment of a basic beat requires the perception of a regular sequence of distinct short-duration pulses and, as a subjective perception of loudness is relative to background noise levels, a pulse must decay to silence before the next occurs if it is to be really distinct. For this reason, the fast-transient sounds of percussion instruments lend themselves to the definition of rhythm. Musical cultures that rely upon such instruments may develop multi-layered [[polyrhythm]] and simultaneous rhythms in more than one time signature, called [[polymeter]]. Such are the [[Rhythm in Sub-Saharan Africa#Cross-rhythm|cross-rhythms of Sub-Saharan Africa]] and the [[Kotekan|interlocking ''kotekan'']] rhythms of the [[gamelan]].

For information on rhythm in [[Music of India|Indian music]] see [[Tala (music)]]. For other Asian approaches to rhythm see [[Rhythm in Persian music]], [[Rhythm in Arabic music]] and [[Usul (music)|''Usul''—Rhythm in Turkish music]] and [[Dumbek rhythms]].

==Terminology==

===Pulse, beat and measure===

{{Further|Pulse (music)|Beat (music)}}
[[File:Metric levels.svg|thumb|right|upright=1.15|[[Metric level]]s: beat level shown in middle with division levels above and multiple levels below.]]

{{Blockquote|As a piece of music unfolds, its rhythmic structure is perceived not as a series of discrete independent units strung together in a mechanical, additive, way like beads [or "pulses"], but as an organic process in which smaller rhythmic motives, whole possessing a shape and structure of their own, also function as integral parts of a larger ["architectonic"] rhythmic organization.{{sfn|Cooper|Meyer|1960|p=2}}}}

Most music, dance and oral poetry establishes and maintains an underlying "metric level", a basic unit of time that may be audible or implied, the [[pulse (music)|pulse]] or ''tactus'' of the [[mensural level]],{{sfn|Berry|1987|p=349}}{{sfn|Lerdahl and Jackendoff|1983}}{{sfn|Fitch and Rosenfeld|2007|p=44}} or ''beat level'', sometimes simply called the [[beat (music)|beat]]. This consists of a (repeating) series of identical yet distinct [[Frequency|periodic]] short-duration [[stimulus (physiology)|stimuli]] perceived as points in time.{{sfn|Winold|1975|p=213}} The "beat" pulse is not necessarily the fastest or the slowest component of the rhythm but the one that is perceived as fundamental: it has a [[tempo]] to which listeners [[Entrainment (biomusicology)|entrain]] as they tap their foot or dance to a piece of music.{{sfn|Handel|1989}} It is currently most often designated as a crotchet or [[quarter note]] in western notation (see [[time signature]]). Faster levels are ''division levels'', and slower levels are ''multiple levels''.{{sfn|Winold|1975|p=213}} [[Maury Yeston]] clarified "Rhythms of recurrence" arise from the interaction of two levels of motion, the faster providing the pulse and the slower organizing the beats into repetitive groups.{{sfn|Yeston|1976|p=50–52}} "Once a metric hierarchy has been established, we, as listeners, will maintain that organization as long as minimal evidence is present".{{sfn|Lester|1986|p=77}}

===Unit and gesture===

A [[Duration (music)|durational pattern]] that synchronises with a [[pulse (music)|pulse]] or pulses on the underlying [[metric level]] may be called a ''rhythmic unit''. These may be classified as:
*Metric – even patterns, such as steady [[eighth note]]s or pulses;
*Intrametric – confirming patterns, such as [[dotted note|dotted]] [[eighth note|eighth]]-[[sixteenth note]] and [[swung note|swing]] patterns;
*Contrametric – non-confirming, or [[syncopated]] patterns; and
*Extrametric – irregular patterns, such as [[tuplet]]s.

{{Image frame|border=no|caption=From left to right: ''metric'', ''intrametric'', ''contrametric'', and ''extrametric'' rhythmic units|align=center|content=<score lang="lilypond" sound="1">
<<
    \new RhythmicStaff {
    \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo 8 = 108
    \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"woodblock"
        \xNotesOn
        \time 2/4
        \bar "||" [c16 16 16 16] [16 16 16 16] \bar "||" [16 16 16 16] [16 16 16 16] |
        \bar "||" [16 16 16 16] [16 16 16 16] \bar "||" [16 16 16 16] [16 16 16 16]
    }
    \new RhythmicStaff {
    \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"agogo"
        [c8 8 8 8] | 8. 16 8. 16 |
        16 8 16~16 8 16 | \tuplet 3/4{16 16 16} \tuplet 3/4{16 16 16}
    }
>></score>}}

A rhythmic gesture is any [[Duration (music)|durational pattern]] that, in contrast to the rhythmic unit, does not occupy a period of time equivalent to a pulse or pulses on an underlying metric level. It may be described according to its beginning and ending or by the rhythmic units it contains. Rhythms that begin on a strong pulse are ''thetic'', those beginning on a weak pulse are ''anacrustic'' and those beginning after a rest or tied-over note are called ''initial rest''. Endings on a strong pulse are ''strong'', on a weak pulse, ''weak'' and those that end on a strong or weak upbeat are ''upbeat''.{{sfn|Winold|1975|p=239}}

===Alternation and repetition===
Rhythm is marked by the regulated succession of opposite elements: the [[dynamics (music)|dynamics]] of the [[Accent (music)|strong and weak]] beat, the played beat and the inaudible but implied [[rest (music)|rest beat]], or the long and short note. As well as perceiving rhythm humans must be able to anticipate it. This depends on [[repetition (music)|repetition]] of a pattern that is short enough to memorize.

The alternation of the strong and weak beat is fundamental to the ancient language of poetry, dance and music. The common [[Foot (prosody)|poetic term "foot"]] refers, as in dance, to the [[Arsis and thesis|lifting and tapping]] of the foot in time. In a similar way musicians speak of an [[Beat (music)#Upbeat|upbeat]] and a [[Beat (music)#Downbeat|downbeat]] and of the [[Beat (music)#On-beat and off-beat|"on" and "off" beat]]. These contrasts naturally facilitate a dual hierarchy of rhythm and depend on repeating patterns of duration, accent and rest forming a "pulse-group" that corresponds to the [[foot (poetry)|poetic foot]]. Normally such pulse-groups are defined by taking the most accented beat as the first and [[counting (music)|counting]] the pulses until the next accent.{{sfn|MacPherson|1930|p=5}}{{harvnb|Scholes|1977b}} A rhythm that accents another beat and de-emphasises the downbeat as established or assumed from the melody or from a preceding rhythm is called [[Syncopation|syncopated]] rhythm.

Normally, even the most complex of meters may be broken down into a chain of duple and triple pulses{{sfn|MacPherson|1930|p=5}}{{sfn|Scholes|1977b}} either by [[Additive and divisive rhythm|addition or division]]. According to [[Pierre Boulez]], beat structures beyond four, in western music, are "simply not natural".{{sfn|Slatkin|n.d.|loc=at 5:05}}

===Tempo and duration===
{{Further|Tempo|Duration (music)}}

The tempo of the piece is the speed or frequency of the ''tactus'', a measure of how quickly the beat flows. This is often measured in 'beats per minute' ([[Tempo|bpm]]): 60&nbsp;bpm means a speed of one beat per second, a frequency of 1&nbsp;Hz. A [[#Unit and gesture|rhythmic unit]] is a durational pattern that has a period equivalent to a pulse or several pulses.{{sfn|Winold|1975|p=237}} The duration of any such unit is inversely related to its tempo.

Musical sound may be analyzed on five different time scales, which Moravscik has arranged in order of increasing duration.{{sfn|Moravcsik|2002|p=114}}
*Supershort: a single cycle of an audible wave, approximately {{frac|1|30}}–{{frac|1|10,000}} second (30–10,000&nbsp;Hz or more than 1,800&nbsp;bpm). These, though rhythmic in nature, are not perceived as separate events but as continuous [[pitch (music)|musical pitch]].
*Short: of the order of one second (1&nbsp;Hz, 60&nbsp;bpm, 10–100,000 audio cycles). Musical tempo is generally specified in the range 40 to 240 beats per minute. A continuous pulse cannot be perceived as a musical beat if it is faster than 8–10 per second (8–10&nbsp;Hz, 480–600&nbsp;bpm) or slower than 1 per 1.5–2 seconds (0.6–0.5&nbsp;Hz, 40–30&nbsp;bpm). Too fast a beat becomes a [[drone (music)|drone]], too slow a succession of sounds seems unconnected.<ref>{{harvnb|Fraisse|1956}}{{Page needed|date=July 2014}}; {{harvnb|Woodrow|1951}}{{Page needed|date=July 2014}}, both quoted in {{harvnb|Covaciu-Pogorilowski|n.d.}}</ref> This time frame roughly corresponds to the human [[heart rate]] and to the duration of a single step, syllable or [[#Unit and gesture|rhythmic gesture]].
*Medium: ≥ few seconds, this median durational level "defines rhythm in music"{{sfn|Moravcsik|2002|p=114}} as it allows the definition of a rhythmic unit, the arrangement of an entire sequence of accented, unaccented and silent or "[[rest (music)|rest]]" pulses into the [[cell (music)|cells]] of a ''measure'' that may give rise to the "briefest intelligible and self-existent musical unit",{{sfn|Scholes|1977c}} a ''[[motif (music)|motif]]'' or ''[[figure (music)|figure]]''. This may be further organized, by repetition and variation, into a definite ''phrase'' that may characterise an entire genre of music, dance or poetry and that may be regarded as the fundamental formal unit of music.{{sfn|MacPherson|1930|p={{Page needed|date=July 2014}}}}
*Long: ≥ many seconds or a minute, corresponding to a durational unit that "consists of musical phrases"{{sfn|Moravcsik|2002|p=114}}—which may make up a melody, a formal section, a poetic [[stanza]] or a characteristic [[Sequence dance|sequence]] of [[Dance move|dance moves and steps]]. Thus the temporal regularity of musical organisation includes the most elementary levels of [[form (music)|musical form]].{{sfn|MacPherson|1930|p=3}}
*Very long: ≥ minutes or many hours, musical compositions or subdivisions of compositions.

[[Curtis Roads]]{{sfn|Roads|2001}} takes a wider view by distinguishing nine-time scales, this time in order of decreasing duration. The first two, the [[Infinity|infinite]] and the supra musical, encompass natural periodicities of months, years, decades, centuries, and greater, while the last three, the [[sample (music)|sample]] and subsample, which take account of digital and electronic rates "too brief to be properly recorded or perceived", measured in millionths of seconds ([[microsecond]]s), and finally the [[infinitesimal]] or infinitely brief, are again in the extra-musical domain. Roads' Macro level, encompassing "overall musical architecture or [[musical form|form]]" roughly corresponds to Moravcsik's "very long" division while his Meso level, the level of "divisions of form" including [[movement (music)|movements]], [[section (music)|sections]], [[phrase (music)|phrases]] taking seconds or minutes, is likewise similar to Moravcsik's "long" category. Roads' [[Sound object]]:<ref>{{Cite book|title=Microsound|last=Roads|first=Curtis|publisher=MIT Press|year=2004|isbn=|location=London|pages=3}} and 
{{cite book | title=Microsound | location=Cambridge, Mass | year=2001 | pages=409 | edition=2nd | publisher=MIT Press | isbn=978-0-262-18215-7 }}</ref> "a basic unit of musical structure" and a generalization of [[note (music)|note]] ([[Iannis Xenakis|Xenakis']] mini structural time scale); fraction of a second to several seconds, and his [[Microsound]] (see [[granular synthesis]]) down to the threshold of audible perception; thousandths to millionths of seconds, are similarly comparable to Moravcsik's "short" and "supershort" levels of duration.

===Rhythm–tempo interaction===
One difficulty in defining rhythm is the dependence of its perception on tempo, and, conversely, the dependence of tempo perception on rhythm. Furthermore, the rhythm–tempo interaction is context dependent, as explained by Andranik Tangian using an example of the leading rhythm of "Promenade" from [[Modest Mussorgsky|Moussorgsky]]'s ''[[Pictures at an Exhibition]]'':{{sfn|Tanguiane|1993}}{{sfn|Tanguiane|1994|pages=465–502}}
{{box|type=transparent|spacing=1em|border size=0em|{{music|quarter}} {{music|quarter}} {{music|quarter}}}}{{box|type=transparent|spacing=0.2em|border size=0em|{{music|quaver}} {{music|quaver}} {{music|quaver}}}}

This rhythm is perceived as it is, rather than as the first three events repeated at a double tempo (denoted as '''R012''' = repeat from 0, one time, twice faster):
{{box|type=transparent|spacing=1em|border size=0em|{{music|quarter}} {{music|quarter}} {{music|quarter}}}}{{box|type=transparent|spacing=0em|border size=0em|'''R012'''}}
However, the motive with this rhythm in the Moussorgsky's piece
{{box|type=transparent|spacing=1em|border size=0em| <sup>{{music|quarter}} <sup>{{music|quarter}}</sup></sup> <sub>{{music|quarter}}</sub>}}{{box|type=transparent|spacing=0.2em|border size=0em|<sup>{{music|quaver}} <sup>{{music|quaver}}</sup></sup> <sub>{{music|quaver}}</sub> }}
is rather perceived as a repeat
{{box|type=transparent|spacing=1em|border size=0em| <sup>{{music|quarter}} <sup>{{music|quarter}}</sup></sup> <sub>{{music|quarter}}</sub>}}{{box|type=transparent|spacing=0em|border size=0em|'''R012'''}}

This context-dependent perception of rhythm is explained by the principle of correlative perception, according to which data are perceived in the simplest way. From [[Andrey Kolmogorov|Kolmogorov]]'s complexity theory, this means a representation of the data that minimizes the amount of memory.

The example considered suggests two alternative representations of the same rhythm: as it is, and as the rhythm-tempo interaction – a two-level representation in terms of a generative rhythmic pattern and a "tempo curve". Table 1 displays these possibilities both with and without pitch, assuming that one duration requires one byte of information, one byte is needed for the pitch of one tone, and invoking the repeat algorithm with its parameters '''R012''' takes four bytes. As shown in the bottom row of the table, the rhythm without pitch requires fewer bytes if it is "perceived" as it is, without repetitions and tempo leaps. On the contrary, its melodic version requires fewer bytes if the rhythm is "perceived" as being repeated at a double tempo.

{| class="wikitable" width="auto" style="text-align:left;"
|+ Complexity of representation of time events
|-
|!style="text-align:left;" |
!colspan="2"| Rhythm only
||
!colspan="2"| Rhythm with pitch
|-
|
!Complete coding
!Coding as repeat
||
!Complete coding
!Coding as repeat
|-
|
!{{box|type=transparent|spacing=1em|border size=0em|{{music|quarter}} {{music|quarter}} {{music|quarter}}}}{{box|type=transparent|spacing=0.2em|border size=0em|{{music|quaver}} {{music|quaver}} {{music|quaver}}}}
!{{box|type=transparent|spacing=1em|border size=0em|{{music|quarter}} {{music|quarter}} {{music|quarter}}}} R012
||
!{{box|type=transparent|spacing=1em|border size=0em|<sup>{{music|quarter}} <sup>{{music|quarter}}</sup></sup> <sub>{{music|quarter}}</sub>}} {{box|type=transparent|spacing=0.2em|border size=0em|<sup>{{music|quaver}} <sup>{{music|quaver}}</sup></sup> <sub>{{music|quaver}}</sub> }}
!{{box|type=transparent|spacing=1em|border size=0em|<sup>{{music|quarter}} <sup>{{music|quarter}}</sup></sup> <sub>{{music|quarter}}</sub>}} R012
|-
! style="text-align:left;" |Complexity of rhythmic pattern
||6 bytes||3 bytes|| ||12 bytes ||6 bytes
|-
! style="text-align:left;" |Complexity of its transformation
||0 bytes||4 bytes|| ||0 bytes || 4 bytes
|-
! style="text-align:left;" |Total complexity
|| 6 bytes||7 bytes|| || 12 bytes ||10 bytes
|}
Thus, the loop of interdependence of rhythm and tempo is overcome due to the simplicity criterion, which "optimally" distributes the complexity of perception between rhythm and tempo. In the above example, the repetition is recognized because of additional repetition of the [[melodic contour]], which results in a redundancy of the musical structure, making the recognition of the rhythmic pattern "robust" under tempo deviations. Generally speaking, the more redundant the "musical support" of a rhythmic pattern, the better its recognizability under augmentations and diminutions, that is, its distortions are perceived as tempo variations rather than rhythmic changes:

{{blockquote|By taking into account melodic context, homogeneity of accompaniment, harmonic pulsation, and other cues, the range of admissible tempo deviations can be extended further, yet still not preventing musically normal perception. For example, [[Alexander Scriabin|Skrjabin]]'s own performance of his ''Poem'' op. 32 no. 1 transcribed from a piano-roll recording contains tempo deviations within {{music|dottedquarter}} {{=}} 19/119, a span of 5.5 times.{{sfn|Skrjabin|1960}} Such tempo deviations are strictly prohibited, for example, in Bulgarian or Turkish music based on so-called additive rhythms with complex duration ratios, which can also be explained by the principle of correlativity of perception. If a rhythm is not structurally redundant, then even minor tempo deviations are not perceived as ''accelerando'' or ''ritardando'' but rather given an impression of a change in rhythm, which implies an inadequate perception of musical meaning.{{sfn|Tanguiane|1994|p=480}}}}

===Metric structure===
{{Further|Metre (music)|Bar (music)|Metre (poetry)}}

[[File:Claves-detail.gif|thumb|left|upright=1.35|Notation of a [[Clave (rhythm)|clave rhythm pattern]]: Each cell of the grid corresponds to a fixed duration of time with a resolution fine enough to capture the timing of the pattern, which may be counted as two bars of four beats in divisive (metrical or symmetrical) rhythm, each beat divided into two cells. The first bar of the pattern may also usefully be counted additively (in measured or [[asymmetrical rhythm]]) as {{serif|'''3 + 3 + 2'''}}.]]

The study of rhythm, stress, and [[pitch (music)|pitch]] in [[speech]] is called [[prosody (linguistics)|prosody]] (see also: [[prosody (music)]]): it is a topic in [[linguistics]] and [[poetics]], where it means the number of lines in a [[verse (poetry)|verse]], the number of syllables in each line and the arrangement of those syllables as long or short, accented or unaccented. Music inherited the term "[[Meter (music)|meter or metre]]" from the terminology of poetry.{{sfn|Scholes|1977b}}{{sfn|Scholes|1977c}}{{sfn|Latham|2002}})

The metric structure of music includes meter, tempo and all other rhythmic aspects that produce temporal regularity against which the foreground details or [[Duration (music)|durational patterns]] of the music are projected.{{sfn|Winold|1975|pp=209–210}} The terminology of western music is notoriously imprecise in this area.{{sfn|Scholes|1977b}} MacPherson preferred to speak of "time" and "rhythmic shape",{{sfn|MacPherson|1930|p=3}} [[Imogen Holst]] of "measured rhythm".{{sfn|Holst|1963|p=17}}

[[File:Phenakistoscope 3g07690d.gif|thumb|An [[Phenakistoscope|early moving picture]] demonstrates the [[waltz]], a dance in triple metre.]]

Dance music has instantly recognizable patterns of beats built upon a characteristic tempo and measure. The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing defines the [[Tango music|tango]], for example, as to be danced in {{music|time|2|4}} time at approximately 66 beats per minute. The basic slow step forwards or backwards, lasting for one beat, is called a "slow", so that a full "right–left" step is equal to one {{music|time|2|4}} measure.{{sfn|Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing|1977|p={{Page needed|date=July 2014}}}} (''See [[Dance#Rhythm|Rhythm and dance]]''.)

[[File:clavepattern.svg|thumb|right|upright=1.35|Notation of three measures of a clave pattern preceded by one measure of steady quarter notes. This pattern is noted in [[double time]] relative to the one above, in one instead of two four-beat measures.[[File:Clave pattern.ogg|thumb|none|Four beats followed by three clave patterns]]]]

The general classifications of ''metrical rhythm'', ''measured rhythm'', and ''free rhythm'' may be distinguished.{{sfn|Cooper|1973|p=30}} Metrical or divisive rhythm, by far the most common in Western music calculates each time value as a multiple or fraction of the beat. Normal accents re-occur regularly providing systematical grouping (measures). Measured rhythm ([[additive rhythm]]) also calculates each time value as a multiple or fraction of a specified time unit but the accents do not recur regularly within the cycle. Free rhythm is where there is neither,{{sfn|Cooper|1973|p=30}} such as in Christian [[chant]], which has a basic pulse but a freer rhythm, like the rhythm of prose compared to that of verse.{{sfn|Scholes|1977c}} ''See [[Free time (music)]]''.

Finally some music, such as some graphically scored works since the 1950s and non-European music such as [[Honkyoku]] repertoire for [[shakuhachi]], may be considered ''ametric''.{{sfn|Karpinski|2000|p=19}} ''Senza misura'' is an Italian musical term for "without meter", meaning to play without a beat, using time to measure how long it will take to play the bar.{{sfn|Forney and Machlis|2007|p={{Page needed|date=December 2009}}}}

==Composite rhythm==<!--[[Composite rhythm]] redirects directly here-->

[[File:Bach, Sinfonia in F minor BWV 795, mm. 1-3a composite rhythm.png|thumb|right|upright=1.35|[[Johann Sebastian Bach|Bach]]'s ''[[Inventions and Sinfonias|Sinfonia in F minor]]'' BWV 795, mm. 1–3
[[File:Bach, Sinfonia in F minor BWV 795, mm. 1-3a.mid|thumb|left|Original]]
[[File:Bach, Sinfonia in F minor BWV 795, mm. 1-3a composite rhythm.mid|thumb|left|With composite]]]]

A '''''composite rhythm''''' is the [[duration (music)|durations]] and patterns (rhythm) produced by amalgamating all sounding [[part (music)|parts]] of a musical [[texture (music)|texture]]. In music of the [[common practice period]], the composite rhythm usually confirms the [[meter (music)|meter]], often in metric or even-note patterns identical to the [[pulse (music)|pulse]] on a specific metric level. White defines ''composite rhythm'' as, "the resultant overall rhythmic [[articulation (music)|articulation]] among all the voices of a [[counterpoint|contrapuntal]] texture".{{sfn|White|1976|p=136}} This concept was concurrently defined as "attack point rhythm" by [[Maury Yeston]] in 1976 as "the extreme rhythmic foreground of a composition – the absolute surface of articulated movement".{{sfn|Yeston|1976|pp=41–42}}

== Counter rhythm ==
From 1927 and forward the recognized definition of "Counter Rhythm<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.oed.com/dictionary/counter-rhythm_n?tab=meaning_and_use#8096096|title=counter-rhythm, n. meanings, etymology and more &#124; Oxford English Dictionary}}</ref>" is "A subordinate rhythm acting as a counterbalance to the main rhythm" (OED<ref name=":0" />). Counter Rhythm is not a common word or phrase in the English Language, appearing approximately 0.01 times per million words in modern written English. Counter Rhythm has been on a steady decrease in usage since its conception, with the exception of a spike in usage in the 1970s. Previous definitions that have been phased out include, "The musical counter-rhythms which Marlowe introduced" and "Splashes of counter-rhythms, flashing tremolos" (OED<ref name=":0" />).

==In different traditions==
===African===
[[File:Diffa Niger Griot DSC 0177.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|left|A Griot performs at Diffa, Niger, West Africa. The Griot is playing a Ngoni or Xalam.]]
In the [[Griot]] tradition of Africa everything related to music has been passed on orally. [[Babatunde Olatunji]] (1927–2003) developed a simple series of spoken sounds for teaching the rhythms of the hand-drum, using six vocal sounds, "Goon, Doon, Go, Do, Pa, Ta", for three basic sounds on the drum, each played with either the left or the right hand.<ref>https://djemberhythms.com/x-books/notation.pdf</ref> The debate about the appropriateness of staff notation for African music is a subject of particular interest to outsiders while African scholars from Kyagambiddwa to Kongo have, for the most part, accepted the conventions and limitations of staff notation, and produced transcriptions to inform and enable discussion and debate.{{sfn|Agawu|2003|p=52}}

John Miller{{sfn|Chernoff|1979}} has argued that West African music is based on the tension between rhythms, [[polyrhythm]]s created by the simultaneous sounding of two or more different rhythms, generally one dominant rhythm interacting with one or more independent competing rhythms. These often oppose or complement each other and the dominant rhythm. Moral values underpin a musical system based on repetition of relatively simple patterns that meet at distant [[Cross-beat|cross-rhythmic]] intervals and on [[Call and response (music)|call-and-response form]]. Collective utterances such as proverbs or lineages appear either in phrases translated into "drum talk" or in the words of songs. People expect musicians to stimulate participation by reacting to people dancing. Appreciation of musicians is related to the effectiveness of their upholding community values.{{sfn|Chernoff|1979|p={{Page needed|date=July 2014}}}}

===Indian===
{{See also|Bol (music)}}
Indian music has also been passed on orally. Tabla players would learn to speak complex rhythm patterns and phrases before attempting to play them. [[Sheila Chandra]], an English pop singer of Indian descent, made performances based on her singing these patterns. In [[Indian classical music]], the [[Tala (music)|Tala]] of a composition is the rhythmic pattern over which the whole piece is structured.

===Western===
In the 20th century, composers like [[Igor Stravinsky]], [[Béla Bartók]], [[Philip Glass]], and [[Steve Reich]] wrote more rhythmically complex music using [[List of works in unusual time signatures|odd meters]], and techniques such as [[Phasing (music)|phasing]] and [[additive rhythm]]. At the same time, modernists such as [[Olivier Messiaen]] and his pupils used increased complexity to disrupt the sense of a regular beat, leading eventually to the widespread use of [[irrational rhythm]]s in [[New Complexity]]. This use may be explained by a comment of [[John Cage]]'s where he notes that regular rhythms cause sounds to be heard as a group rather than individually; the irregular rhythms highlight the rapidly changing pitch relationships that would otherwise be subsumed into irrelevant rhythmic groupings.{{sfn|Sandow|2004|p=257}} [[La Monte Young]] also wrote music in which the sense of a regular beat is absent because the music consists only of long sustained tones ([[drone (music)|drones]]). In the 1930s, [[Henry Cowell]] wrote music involving multiple simultaneous periodic rhythms and collaborated with [[Leon Theremin]] to invent the [[rhythmicon]], the first electronic [[Drum machine|rhythm machine]], in order to perform them. Similarly, [[Conlon Nancarrow]] wrote for the [[player piano]].

==Linguistics==
{{Main article|Isochrony}}
In [[linguistics]], rhythm or isochrony is one of the three aspects of [[Prosody (linguistics)|prosody]], along with [[Stress (linguistics)|stress]] and [[Intonation (linguistics)|intonation]]. Languages can be categorized according to whether they are syllable-timed, mora-timed, or stress-timed. Speakers of syllable-timed languages such as Spanish and [[Cantonese]] put roughly equal time on each syllable; in contrast, speakers of stressed-timed languages such as English and [[Mandarin Chinese]] <!--Note that the Isochrony Wiki lists Mandarin as syllable-timed--> put roughly equal time lags between stressed syllables, with the timing of the unstressed syllables in between them being adjusted to accommodate the stress timing.

Narmour<ref>{{harvnb|Narmour|1977}}, cited in {{harvnb|Winold|1975|p={{Page needed|date=July 2014}}}}</ref> describes three categories of prosodic rules that create rhythmic successions that are additive (same duration repeated), cumulative (short-long), or countercumulative (long-short). Cumulation is associated with closure or relaxation, countercumulation with openness or tension, while additive rhythms are open-ended and repetitive. Richard Middleton points out this method cannot account for [[syncopation]] and suggests the concept of [[Transformation (music)|transformation]].{{sfn|Middleton|1990|p={{Page needed|date=July 2014}}}}

==References==
{{reflist|20em}}

===Sources===
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{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary}}
* [https://archive.org/stream/rhythmofproseexp00pattiala/rhythmofproseexp00pattiala_djvu.txt 'Rhythm of Prose', William Morrison Patterson, Columbia University Press 1917]
* [http://www.melodyhound.com/query_by_tapping.0.html Melodyhound has a "Query by Tapping" search that allows users to identify music based on rhythm]
* [http://www.signosemio.com/semiotics-of-rhythm.asp Louis Hébert, "A Little Semiotics of Rhythm. Elements of Rhythmology", in ''Signo'']
* [https://www.wolke-verlag.de/musikbuecher/sinusoidal-run-rhythm-steffen-krebber/ 'sinusoidal run rhythm', Steffen Krebber, Wolke Verlag 2023]

{{Rhythm and meter|state=expanded}}
{{Melody}}
{{Musical notation}}
{{Nonverbal communication}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Rhythm and meter|*]]
[[Category:Cognitive musicology]]
[[Category:Musical terminology]]
[[Category:Patterns]]