DURATION 1
Duration refers to the lengths of sounds and silences in music and includes the aspects of beat, rhythm, metre, tempo, pulse rates and absence of pulse.
Students should be able to discuss the following aspects of duration as relevant to the music studied:
• beat: the underlying pulse in music
• rhythm: patterns of long and short sounds and silences found in music
• tempo: the speed of the beat. Music may be relatively fast or slow and may become faster or slower
• metre: the grouping of beats. Beats can be grouped in any combination including 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and so on.
Students should understand and apply the following (where appropriate to the musical context):
• regular and irregular metres
• metric groupings
• tempo
• rhythmic devices such as syncopation, augmentation and diminution
• methods of notating duration, both traditional and graphic.
Students should be able to discuss the following aspects of duration as relevant to the music studied:
• beat: the underlying pulse in music
• rhythm: patterns of long and short sounds and silences found in music
• tempo: the speed of the beat. Music may be relatively fast or slow and may become faster or slower
• metre: the grouping of beats. Beats can be grouped in any combination including 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and so on.
Students should understand and apply the following (where appropriate to the musical context):
• regular and irregular metres
• metric groupings
• tempo
• rhythmic devices such as syncopation, augmentation and diminution
• methods of notating duration, both traditional and graphic.
Accent
Anacrusis Augmentation Backbeat Bar Beat Diminution Dotted Rhythm Duplets Duration Free Rhythm Legato Metre Multimetre Offbeat Ostinato Pause/Fermata Polyrhythm Pulse Rhythm Rubato Staccato Swing Rhythm Syncopation |
Tempo & Other Words
- Largo - Lento - Adagio - Andante - Moderato - Allegro - Vivace - Presto - Prestissimo - Ritardando - Accelerando - Molto - Poco - Piu - Meno - Meno Mosso - Piu Mosso - A Tempo - Static Time Signatures - Simple Tine Signatures - Compound Time Signatures - Irregular Time Signatures Triplets - Crotchet Triples - Quaver Triplets |
Accent
An accent is a strong or emphasised note or beat. In ¦¼time there is an accent on the first beat and a weaker accent on beat 3. Accents can be REGULAR or IRREGULAR.
Regular accents have a consistent pattern. Regular Accent Example:
‘Anvil Chorus’ from ‘Il Trovatore’ by Verdi. You will hear the strong accents on beats 1 and 3
An accent is a strong or emphasised note or beat. In ¦¼time there is an accent on the first beat and a weaker accent on beat 3. Accents can be REGULAR or IRREGULAR.
Regular accents have a consistent pattern. Regular Accent Example:
‘Anvil Chorus’ from ‘Il Trovatore’ by Verdi. You will hear the strong accents on beats 1 and 3
Irregular accents do not follow any regular pattern. Irregular Accent Example:
Stravinsky ‘The rite of Spring’
Stravinsky ‘The rite of Spring’
Anacrusis
An anacrusis is an incomplete bar at the beginning of a piece which is always made up for at the end. This can also be called an upbeat. A simple way to define anacrusis is any notes that occur before the first full bar of music.
An anacrusis is an incomplete bar at the beginning of a piece which is always made up for at the end. This can also be called an upbeat. A simple way to define anacrusis is any notes that occur before the first full bar of music.
Try to mention the length of the anacrusis. Half beat,
one beat, two beats etc…
Here are some more examples of pieces that begin with an anacrusis.
Here are some more examples of pieces that begin with an anacrusis.
Here is a piece that sounds like it has an anacrusis but if you count the beats the first bar totals 4 beats
Augmentation
Augmentation is the lengthening of the notes of a rhythm pattern by an equal length.
Example: If the notes of this rhythm are doubled it becomes…
Augmentation is the lengthening of the notes of a rhythm pattern by an equal length.
Example: If the notes of this rhythm are doubled it becomes…
Example: Bar 3 is the augmentation of bar 1 (right hand). The left hand has not been augmented. At bar 5 the bass line has been augments also
Here is a piece that is constructed using augmentation. The bass line is the augmentation (doubled note durations) of the melody. The letters are provided so that you can see where each corresponding note has ended up. The augmented part follows the exact pitch movement of the melody
Backbeat
A back beat is the emphasis of beats 2 and 4 rather than 1 & 3. This occurs in a lot of pop music and country music. In Billy Joel’s ‘For the longest time’ you can hear loud clicking emphasising the back beat.
A back beat is the emphasis of beats 2 and 4 rather than 1 & 3. This occurs in a lot of pop music and country music. In Billy Joel’s ‘For the longest time’ you can hear loud clicking emphasising the back beat.
Bar
You may be able to throw in the word bar into a duration question. It is useful if you can say how may bars something lasts for or how many bars is a specific rhythm is absent etc… There might a a 2 bar rest.
You may be able to throw in the word bar into a duration question. It is useful if you can say how may bars something lasts for or how many bars is a specific rhythm is absent etc… There might a a 2 bar rest.
Beat
Beat is the continuous underlying pulse of music. Beat can be strong or weak, regular and irregular or indefinite (there is no beat).
Beat is the continuous underlying pulse of music. Beat can be strong or weak, regular and irregular or indefinite (there is no beat).
Diminution
Diminution is the opposite of augmentation. Diminution is the shortening of the notes of a rhythm pattern by an equal length. (Often halving the length)
Diminution is the opposite of augmentation. Diminution is the shortening of the notes of a rhythm pattern by an equal length. (Often halving the length)
2 bars diminuted (by half) becomes 1 bar. See the ‘Augmentation’ example as bar 1 is the diminution of bars 5-6.
Here is an example from David Bowie’s ‘Pallas Athena’. You will hear the low strings enter with a motive. This motive is then diminuted and performed by the upper strings.
Bass motive: Repeated 4 times before middle strings enter
Here is an example from David Bowie’s ‘Pallas Athena’. You will hear the low strings enter with a motive. This motive is then diminuted and performed by the upper strings.
Bass motive: Repeated 4 times before middle strings enter
Dotted Rhythm
Dotted rhythm is any rhythm pattern that continually uses a dotted note with a shorter note after. Here is a typical example.
Swing rhythm is a specific type of dotted rhythm (see ‘Swing Rhythm’ in DURATION).
Dotted rhythm is any rhythm pattern that continually uses a dotted note with a shorter note after. Here is a typical example.
Swing rhythm is a specific type of dotted rhythm (see ‘Swing Rhythm’ in DURATION).
Here is an example from ‘Somethin’ stupid’ by Robbie Williams. The dotted rhythm is used in the bass line.
This example from ‘California Girls’ by the Beach Boys is an excellent example of dotted rhythm. It is also an example of Swing Rhythm. See ‘Swing Rhythm’ in DURATION.
Duplets
Duplets only occur in COMPOUND TIME SIGNATURES (See ‘Compound Time Signatures’ in DURATION). A duplet is fitting two notes into the time of three. It is like a backwards triplet. Here is an simple example.
Duplets only occur in COMPOUND TIME SIGNATURES (See ‘Compound Time Signatures’ in DURATION). A duplet is fitting two notes into the time of three. It is like a backwards triplet. Here is an simple example.
Here is a piano piece called ‘Mexican Dance no. 2’ by Olvera. It uses duplets in the bass line. Bars 1-2 and 5-6 are examples of Polyrhythm. See ‘Polyrhythm’ in DURATION.
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