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Duration Terms
These are the key terms related to the Musical Concept of Duration
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Duration | The Musical Concept that refers to the length of sounds and silences in music. Key terms include Beat, Meter, Rhythm and Tempo. |
Rhythm | The combination of sounds (notes) and silences (rests) played against an even pulse. |
Rhythmic Ostinato | A repeated rhythmic pattern usually played by the drummer in contemporary styles of music. Often, it is what determines the style of music e.g. Rock, Swing, Metal, Funk etc. |
Time Signature | Another term for Meter. You can identify this aurally by finding the naturally strong beats and counting them as 1. |
Simple Meter | Where the pulse is in repeating cycles of 2 [Duple], 3 [Triple] OR 4 [Quadruple]. |
Compound Meter | Where the pulse is a combination of pulses of 2 AND 3. E.G. 6/8 Time Signature [Duple and Triple] |
Swung Eighths | When two quavers are played unevenly - as though the beat has been divided in 3 as opposed to 2. Long short Long short. |
Straight Eighths | A term used to describe the even, consistent quaver rhythms used in Rock n Roll and Electric Blues by the harmony & rhythm instruments. |
Waltz | The term given to describe dance music in 3/4 [Simple Triple] meter. |
Allegro | Music played at a relatively fast tempo. |
Andante | Music played at relatively slow tempo or walking pace. |
Presto | Music played at a very fast tempo. |
Lento | Music played at a very slow tempo. |
Moderato | Music played at a medium - fairly slow - tempo |
Tempo | The speed or pace of a piece of music. |
Polyrhythm | When two or more rhythms with different pulses are heard together, e.g. where one is playing in triple time and another is playing in quadruple time - three against four. |
Cross Rhythm | The effect produced when two conflicting rhythms are heard together. |
Syncopation | When the notes or accented notes occur off the beat or across the beats. |
Triplet | Three even pulses in the space of two. Counted as "1 AND A" |
Bar | The unit of measurement used for each cycle of pulses in a piece. |