Mu2108 Glossary of Terms relating to Rhythm and Meter Clark Ross
Rhythm: The temporal aspect of music.
Syncopation: A rhythmic figure that stresses a normally weak beat.
Ratio: Two simultaneous rhythmic figures (or meters) consisting of regularly recurring beats that are in proportion to
one another, such as 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 4:3, etc.
Hemiola: Music in which the accentuation scheme or phrasing temporarily suggests a change in meter, without
actually inserting a meter change. In its most typical form (found in renaissance and baroque dances), it consists
of a metrical pattern in which two bars of simple, triple meter (e.g., 3/4) are articulated as if they were three bars
of simple, duple meter (e.g., 2/4). A variation of this would be a bar of compound, duple meter (e.g., 6/8)
articulated as if it were a bar of simple, triple meter (e.g., 3/4). Example, showing a typical galliard rhythm:
Symmetrical Meter: A meter based on regular recurring pulses that can be subdivided into groups of two or three (i.e.,
traditional meters like 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 6/8, 9/8, etc.)
Asymmetrical Meter: A meter that cannot be divided symmetrically, such as 5/4 or 7/8.
Composite Meter: Another term for asymmetrical meter, referring specifically to the way it is subdivided, like
!
4+3
8
, or
!
2+3+3
8
, etc.
Mixed Meter: Consecutive, frequently changing meters, e.g., 5/8 | 3/2 | 6/8 | 2/4 |
Displaced Accent: Music in which the normal metric accent pattern implied by the meter is displaced so that accents
occur on normally weak beats, or off beats.
Perceived Meter: The metric pattern perceived by the listener.
Additive Rhythm: Rhythm in which unequal metric groupings are added together (e.g., 2+3, 2+3+2, etc.). The term
was introduced in Rhythm and Tempo (1953), by Curt Sachs. Another, completely different definition can be found
in: Handbook For Acoustic Ecology (1978; Barry Truax, ed.), where ‘additive rhythm’ is described as non-metric or free
rhythm, where all time intervals are not fractions or multiples of a beat, nor is there any precise regularity of measure or accent.
In this situation, each duration simply adds to the others, and so this type of rhythm could be called additive… Additive rhythm
is created by randomly occurring events (e.g. the sounds of birds and insects, or the pattern of rain falling). Kostka & Payne
seem to support this second definition when they suggest that additive rhythm creates a lack of perceived meter
(6th ed., p. 528), but I suspect most people using the term are referencing the first meaning.
Cross Rhythm (Polyrhythm): Simultaneous presentation of two or more perceivably independent rhythms. E.g., 3
against 2, 4 against 3, 7 against 6, etc.
Polymeter: Two or more simultaneous, perceivably distinct meters in different voices/parts. Although frequently
notated with different time signatures in different parts, it is also possible to achieve this with the same notated
time signature in all parts, but different implied meters through accentuation and note groupings, including
beaming across barlines. Example:
Ametric: No aurally perceivable meter. There may be a time signature in the music (or not), but it is not aurally
perceivable due to a lack of regular, recurring pulses.
