Musical 2 4. How to count musical rhythm

Hello friends! Today I am opening a series of articles related not only to “percussion” and drums, but to music in general. We will consider important musical terms and definitions that every musician should know. This article will focus on musical meter.

What is musical meter?

Meter in music (definition, term)- this is a measure that specifies an imaginary coordinate time grid, which consists of a continuous alternation of strong and weak beats of equal duration. Such fractions are called metric.

Unit and expression of musical meter.

Musical meter expressed - in size (numerical expression), reflected in measures and unit of measurement - are beats. We'll talk about shares now.

P.S. Very often you can find the use of the expression musical meter in crosswords and scanwords.

What is a beat and what are the different beats in music?

Musical beat- unit of measurement of musical meter. There are shares:

• Strong.
• Relatively strong.
• Weak.

The strong beat in music is considered accentuated, and the weak beat is not accentuated.

However, remember: the downbeat and the accent are not the same thing. The accent can be applied to any beat. The choice of the beat to be emphasized falls on the shoulders of the composer. His imagination tells him what the future composition should look like. Based on this, the author places emphasis.

Metric accent- is the selection of certain notes and beats. Metrical accents can be either real (emphasized by a louder sound) or imaginary (emphasized by a pause).

To clearly understand what a meter is, let’s take a ruler with millimeter notches, where the distance between the small lines will indicate notes.

The middle lines will be the beginning of the weak beat, and the large lines will be the beginning of the strong beat.

Along the lines of our figurative ruler, you can set rhythmic patterns from notes of different durations. The designs can be completely different, but they must fit into the lines of our line.

Friends, in general the concept of musical meter is quite abstract. In musical works it may not be expressed at all, and may be present only in the “head” of the musician.

What is musical time signature?

Meter and size in music are closely intertwined, in most cases if we're talking about about the meter, then it can be replaced by size. But it’s worth remembering an important difference - the meter specifies the relative duration of each beat, which the meter does not do. In addition, time signature in music is related to beat, so the following definition can be given:

Musical time signature- a “numerical” display of the meter, showing how many beats are used in a measure and their relative duration, and is indicated as a fraction.

Take, for example, the “2/4” time signature, it tells us that there will be 2 beats in a bar, and the duration of each beat is one. This example is often used for children to explain the concept of time signature in music.

On the staff, the time signature is placed immediately after the key at the beginning of the composition or the measure from which it changes.

There is no fractional line between the numbers indicating the time signature on the staff. The picture below shows the size - 4/4 (four quarters).

What are the musical meters and sizes? Types of sizes and examples.

Musical time signatures are divided into:

1. Simple.
2. Complex.

Simple meters (meters) in music.

Simple meters are bipartite and tripartite.

• Bipartite meter- a musical meter in which a strong beat is repeated evenly after one weak beat. The following sizes belong to two-part meters: “2/2”, “2/4”, “2/8”, etc.
• Triple meter- a musical meter in which a strong beat is repeated evenly every two weak beats (consists of one strong beat and two weak ones). The following sizes are considered trilobed: “3/2”, “3/4”, “3/8”, etc.

Complex meters (meters) in music.

Complex (combined, composite, mixed) meter- a musical meter obtained by merging two or more simple meters. Therefore, complex meters can include several strong beats. The total number of which is equal to the number of strong fractions of simple meters included in the complex meter.

There is one “raisin” in a complex meter: the first strong beat of a complex meter is called strong, but subsequent strong beats are called relatively strong. The emphasis of the strong beats is higher, and the relatively strong ones are lower.

What are the complex sizes?

Anything larger than a three-part meter is considered a complex size, for example:

• quadruple - “4/2”, “4/4”, etc.
• five-beat - “5/4”, “5/8”, etc.
• six-beat - “6/4”, “6/8”, etc.
• heptads - “7/4”, “7/8”, etc.
• octals - “8/4”, “8/8”, etc.
• nine-beats - “9/4”, “9/8”, etc.
• and others.

There are no strict limits on complex sizes. Everything depends on the musician’s imagination and, accordingly, its implementation. However, it is worth remembering that the more complex the meter, the more difficult it is for a composer to write and play such music, and the more difficult it is for an ordinary listener to perceive and feel it.

What are asymmetrical sizes (mixed) sizes?

The peculiarity of asymmetrical sizes is the combination of bipartite and tripartite meters. For example, let’s take the most common mixed musical time signature “5/4”, which can be obtained from two options for combining two-beat and three-beat sizes:

1. Option: “3/4” + “2/4” - in this case the emphasis will be on the first and fourth beats of the measure.
2. Option: “2/4” + “3/4” - in this case, the emphasis will be on the first and third beats of the measure.

The five-beat meter “5/4” in music is found mainly in jazz and folk music.

Other examples of asymmetrical (mixed) sizes are: “7/4”, “9/4” or even “11/4”, as well as their variations “7/8”, “9/8” “11/8” and so on Further. As homework Try to figure out for yourself, by combining what sizes you can get such mixed sizes? Write in the comments what you did =)

What is variable size?

Another type of size is variable size. It is formed when during one composition the size changes from one to another (this can happen repeatedly). This type of meter is found mainly in folk music and is associated, for the most part, with the freedom to perform songs not constrained by any musical framework.

What is an unequal meter (size)?

The concept of unequal meter appeared in the 20th century and means a musical meter in which the duration of the beats included in the meter is different. Most often, the unequal meter can be found in folklore song creativity. As an example - Bulgarian folk songs. The unequal meter is very rare in modern music, so you shouldn’t focus on it, just remember that there is also this kind of musical meter =)

How to determine musical time signature?

It is very difficult for a simple listener or a beginner to determine the size; to do this, you need to have a good feel for the alternation of strong, weak and relatively strong beats. This is called "pulsation". Once you learn to feel the “pulse” of music, you will be able to determine the time signature by ear. Determining simple dimensions is not so difficult, but with complex ones it can be extremely difficult even for professionals.

On a note! Dancers are very good at feeling the music (and the size accordingly).

Sizes of the main dances (if anyone remembers which dances, write in the comments):

• Samba - "2/4".
• Polka - “2/4”.
• Cha-cha-cha - "4/4".
• Rumba - "4/4".
• Paso Doble - “2/4”.
• Jive - "4/4".
• Foxtrot - "4/4".
• Quickstep - "4/4".
• Tango - "2/4".
• Gallop - “2/4”.
• Waltz - “3/4” (three quarters).

What size symbols can you find on a musical staff?

• With- abbreviation and equivalent of 4/4 time signature.
• ¢ - alla breve (alla breve) - abbreviated designation and equivalent to size 2/2.

• Several lobes make up tact.
• The most first beat is strong(roughly one might say, the loudest, most accented). It is the limit of the tact.
• Main musical share- this is one-fourth ( quarter).

Look, this measure consists of four quarters:

You can listen to how it sounds in the file 4tact_4_4.mid. It contains 4 measures of four quarters. The downbeat is the beat bass drum(barrels), and 3 weak ones are 3 plates.

Musical time signature- this is the number of beats in a measure.

This means we've just covered 4/4 (four-quarter) time. It is the most common in music. And here, listen to how the song “A grasshopper sat in the grass” fits this size (file Cuznetz.mid). Strong beats in the melody are also emphasized. There is one more joke in this song. It begins not with a strong beat, but with a weak beat (fourth). This kind of thing is called “due to tact.”

And to be more precise, “Grasshopper” does not begin exactly with the fourth beat. What should I do? Someone once suggested a long time ago: “Shouldn’t we break a quarter (share) into two eighths, and an eighth, in turn, into 2 sixteenths”? In other words, the eighth is beaten twice as often. And imagine, everyone liked it. Look how simple it is.

You see, halves and whole ones have appeared. I marked the downbeat with black. She's always first. And "Grasshopper" begins with the eighth number 7.
And 1/16th can be divided ad infinitum. Although almost no one divides beyond 1/64.

A measure can contain not only 4, but also 3, 2, in short, any number of quarters or eighths, or any others. Dimensions that's why it's like that are called 4/4 (four quarters), 3/4 (three quarters), 6/8 (six eighths).

Now it’s easy to explain what tempo is.

Musical tempo- this is the number of sounding quarters per minute, in other words the speed of music performance.

In musical notation indicate musical tempo of the following types:
1) largo, largo(very slow and wide, 44-52 beats per minute);
2) adagio, adagio(slow, calm, 48-56 beats per minute);
3) andante, andante(tempo of a calm step, 58-72 beats per minute);
4) moderato, moderato(moderate, restrained, 80-96 beats per minute);
5) allegretto, allegretto(quite brisk, 92-108 beats per minute);
6) allegro, allegro(fast, 120-144 beats per minute);
7) vivace (vivo), vivace(fast, lively, 168-192 beats per minute);
8) presto, presto(very fast, 184-200 beats per minute).

Like almost all musical notation terms, these words are borrowed from the Italian language.

You are a beginner musician and enjoy learning musical notation, but are you having problems understanding yet another piece of music and counting correctly? Nothing, anyone who has a question will always find an answer.

The unit of calculation when reading any piece of music is the duration. The duration of notes is not a specific constant that depends on time - it cannot be measured in seconds. The duration of notes can only be represented in relation to the durations of other notes, and the same piece can be played faster or slower, but still sound correct in both cases. But how can you learn to count notes correctly and easily?

Note duration table

In order to determine the duration, you just need to look at the denominator of the note signature indicated in this specific work. A meter is a sequence of repeated beats that divide time into equal intervals (beats). So, if the time signature is 4/4, the duration is four, 6/8 - the duration is eight. However, this rule may be violated if one of these sizes is used: 2/2, 3/2, etc. In this case, very often not a half, but a quarter is taken as a unit of account.

But before we move on to counting, let's still figure out what the notes of different styles mean. The outline of the notes themselves tells the musician how long and at what frequency to play the sound of a given pitch in a specific time signature. Below is a table of note durations and rests.

And one more drawing for greater clarity.

The splitting of notes does not end there, and the sixteenth is followed by the thirty-second, followed by the sixty-four, one hundred and twenty-eighth, and two hundred and fifty-sixth. But the notes presented in the table above are the most common.

Note with a dot

By adding a dot or dots, the duration of a particular note can be increased. One dot increases the duration of a note by one and a half times, two dots - by 1.75 times, three dots - by 1.875 times.

In addition to the dot, the duration of a note can be increased by a league. Such a note is two identical notes of the same pitch, connected by a league. In this case, only the first note is played, and the second is linked with it.

How to count notes?

If you don't know how to count notes correctly, you will never be able to play an unfamiliar piece of music correctly. I will not describe the theory for a long time, but with a clear example I will show how convenient it is to count notes in different sizes; for this I selected excerpts from several pieces of music recorded in different sizes and signed the correct account, where you can see with clear examples how to count notes in sizes: 4/4, 3/4, 2/4, 3/8 and 6/8. This method of counting is as convenient as possible for me, but if you have another, share it with readers in the comments.

Time signatures 4/4, 3/4 and 2/4 in music

The size of a piece of music can be seen at its very beginning, while the numerator of the fraction indicates the number of beats in a measure, and the denominator indicates the duration by which these same beats are expressed.

How to count 4/4 time signature

4/4 time signature is one of the most common musical time signatures. Size C is equivalent to size 4/4. This size consists of four beats, with each beat equal in duration to a quarter (fourth note). Below are examples of invoices.

How to count size 3/4

The 3/4 time signature consists of three beats, each beat being equal to a quarter note.

How to count size 2/4

IN in this case the duration is four, but we count to two. (One and two and; one yes and yes, two yes and yes). The 2/4 time signature consists of two beats, each of which is equal in duration to a quarter.

Or below is a slightly more complex option (you can click on the image and it will enlarge). In this case, we count not just by “one and two and”, but by “one yes and yes two yes and yes.”

Meter 6/8 in music, how to count?

The 6/8 time signature is made up of six beats, and each beat is an eighth note. We count to six: one, two, three, four, five, six.

First of all, a little later I will write a continuation where I will look at other sizes. If the article was useful to you, please like it!

Every person studying music is required to undergo solfeggio studies. And one of the fundamental themes is meters in music. Next, their main varieties, methods of determination and some of the most common combinations will be considered.

Concept of musical meter

Before defining what constitutes a musical meter, you need to have an understanding of the concept called musical meter.

It is generally accepted that all music is based on the so-called pulsation - alternating beats of equal duration, which can be strong and weak. The downbeat always comes first in the measure. But you should not confuse strong beats with emphasis, since such emphasis can also occur on weak beats.

In modern music, you can most often find meters consisting of two or three beats. IN in simple terms a two-beat meter consists of one strong and one weak beat (one-two), and a three-beat meter consists of one strong and two weak ones (one-two-three). Thus, musical meter can be represented as a process of counting such alternations or even as a kind of time grid with a sequence of beats indicated in it.

Types of lobes and their varieties

Understanding what a musical meter is is impossible without knowing the types of beats. As already mentioned, in the simplest case they are divided into strong and weak.

However, some may object, they say, what about the most common 4/4 time signature? In music, it is believed that the first beat is strong, the second and fourth are weak, but the third is relatively strong. The size itself is classified as complex, since it consists of two simple ones. But this will be discussed separately.

Tact in music

Now a few words about understanding tact. If we talk in simple language, a beat in music is the interval of sound from one strong beat to another.

No matter how many beats are indicated in the musical size in total, only one strong beat and as many relatively strong and weak beats can be present in a measure. The counting in a measure always starts with “one”. Depending on the size, the shares can be counted as “one-two” (“one-two-three”), “one-and-two-and” (“one-and-two-and-three-and”), etc. .d.

Time signature in music: main varieties

Finally, we come to the concept of size. Meters in music are sometimes called the numerical expression of the meter, indicating the relative duration of the beats and their total number in one measure.

Why is the concept of relative duration used? Yes, only because the beats can be broken down into components, which the musical meter does not provide for. For example, the 4/4 time signature in music, also denoted by the Latin letter “C,” provides for the presence of one measure consisting of four quarter notes in total.

But each quarter note can also be represented as combinations of eighth, sixteenth, thirty-second, or even sixty-fourth notes! How exactly they will be combined with each other is decided by the composer himself. The main thing is that their sum does not exceed the total sound duration corresponding to four quarters. But these are already the basics musical literacy.

As for the main varieties, time signatures in music are divided into simple and complex. Complex sizes also include categories of mixed, asymmetrical and variable sizes.

Simple time signatures

Based on the understanding of meter, we can describe the sizes that are called simple in music. They distinguish between bilobed and trilobed sizes. In the first case, the repetition of strong beats occurs through one weak beat, and in the second - through two.

The most common two-beat sizes are considered to be 2/8, 2/4 and 2/2 (meter 2/2 in music, like 2/8, is extremely rare and is considered exclusively within the framework of theoretical information). Of the three-part sizes, these are 3/4, 3/8 and 3/2. Again, 3/2 or 3/8 are hardly ever used, and three-quarter time is the most common (for example, it is used for almost all waltzes).

Complex time signatures

Complex dimensions in the simplest case should be understood as a combination of two or more simple ones. In this case, it is the first beat of the first size that is strong, and the seemingly strong beat from the second automatically goes into the category of relatively strong.

In complex time signatures, the easiest to understand are sizes like 4/4, 4/2, 6/4, 6/2, 6/8, 12/8, 8/4, 8/8. As you can see, these sizes are comparable to each other, for example, 8/8 is the same as 4/4.

Mixed and asymmetrical time signatures

Another thing is mixed sizes. In music, five-, seven-, nine- and eleven-beat combinations are most often found. And the sequence of beats, accordingly, can look completely different. Let's take 5/4 as an example.

When creating this size, simple components are used: 2/4 and 3/4. But the combination can look like “2+3” or “3+2”. Thus, a shift occurs relative to the strong lobe.

Perhaps the brightest and famous composition, written in this measure with the combination “3+2” can be called “Mary Magdalene’s Aria” from the rock opera “Jesus Christ Superstar” by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

As for other dimensions, there may be more combinations in them. So, for example, a musical time signature of 7/8 can consist of the sequences “2+2+3”, “2+3+2” or “3+2+2”. In nine- and eleven-beat dimensions, there are, respectively, more such variations. But when creating music using such meters, it is worth remembering that the average listener will have difficulty perceiving such a melody by ear, and not everyone will be able to play it.

Although, if you look at the bands playing thrash metal, they cope with this simply perfectly and quite often combine “ragged” riffs with the usual simple or complex meters.

For example, the same Xentrix group very successfully alternates 3/4 time signatures with triplets of eighth notes on each beat and 7/8, sometimes adding 9/8. Naturally, it will not be so easy for an untrained listener to determine the size by ear the first time, but it sounds very, very interesting. In general, a classic of the genre.

Variable time signatures

This type of meters is extremely rare in music, and mainly in folk music folklore. Bulgarian folk songs are a prime example.

The very concept of this term only implies that during one composition the main size can change several times, for example, using several regular complex and several asymmetrical sizes.

Sizing method

When determining the size, the listener relies solely on his own hearing and this is the only way to distinguish where exactly the strong beat sounds, from which to start.

However, in almost all music schools During solfeggio lessons, students use a special conducting technique. For example, the 4/4 time signature is represented by swinging the hand first down, then to the left, then to the right, and then up again (usually at an angle of 45 degrees).

Three quarters - swings down, right and up. Six eighths - swings down, left, right, up again, and at the top two swings to the right (or in another combination). However, at first, when determining meters by ear and writing dictations, teachers, in order to develop a sense of rhythm in students, deliberately highlight the strong beat of each measure. It is precisely this technique that makes it possible to achieve further man will be able to determine any type of dimension (even taking into account their alternation) independently and without any accents or hints.

Conclusion

To sum it up, musical meters are very closely related to the understanding of musical meter, beats and measures. Therefore, in order to learn to clearly determine which dimension sounds in any piece of music, you can’t do without the basics of musical literacy and solfeggio.

True, many students, at least at first, do not like solfeggio, to put it mildly, considering it unnecessary and difficult to understand. However, it is precisely this that is the very basis that provides fertile ground for the development of a person as a musician of the highest professional level. After all, there is also a world-famous guitarist who played in such famous groups, How Deep Purple and Rainbow, argued that moving the fingers quickly along the fretboard is not a technique. Without knowledge of the basics and classical canons of music, it is simply impossible to become a professional of the highest level.

So, beginning musicians can be advised to be patient and persevering and study these subjects thoroughly. IN music education, so to speak, it’s like “Our Father.”

Today we will talk about musical time - the numerical expression of the meter, as well as how to count and conduct in various sizes, but first we will briefly repeat what the pulse, meter, strong and weak beats are.

There can be a lot of variants of the rhythmic pattern in a two-quarter measure. Let's see some of them.

Size 3/4 "three quarters" – it has three beats, and each is equal to one quarter note. The counting is “one-and, two-and, three-and.” The sum of three quarters can also be dialed different ways. If, for example, you combine all three quarter notes into one note, you get a half note with a dot - this is the longest note that can be written in a bar with a given time signature. Check out some rhythmic fill options for this time signature.

Size 3/8 "three eighths" - it is similar to three-quarters in its three-beat length, only the duration of each beat here is an eighth, and not a quarter. The count is "one-two-three". The eighth is the main duration, but it can be split into sixteenths if necessary or connected into a quarter (if two eighths are connected) or a quarter with a dot (connecting three eighths at once). Common rhythmic filling options:

Complex time signatures

The most common compound time signatures in music are four quarters and six eighths. Each of them consists of two simple ones.

Size 4/4 "four quarters" – contains four beats, and the duration of each beat is one quarter note. This size is the sum of two simple 2/4 sizes, which means it has two accents - on the first beat and on the third. The first beat is called strong, and the third, which corresponds to the beginning of the second simple size, is called relatively strong , which is weaker than strong. Additionally, we would like to inform you that 4/4 time signature is sometimes also indicated by a sign similar to the letter C (open circle).

Size 6/8 "six-eighths" - this is a six-beat size, it is composed of two simple three-beats, the pulsation is in eighth notes. The strong beat in it is the first, and the relatively strong beat is the fourth (the beginning of the second is in simple size 3/8).

In addition to these most common complex time signatures, a musician may encounter others similar to them: 4/8, 6/4, 9/8, 12/8. All these complex dimensions are formed according to a similar principle. For example, a 9/8 measure is three 3/8 measures added together, 12/8 is four similar simple measures connected.

Mixed sizes

Mixed complex sizes are formed when not the same, but different simple ones are combined together, for example, a two-lobe with a three-lobe. From the variety of mixed sizes, four stand out that catch the eye more often than others. These are 5/4 and 5/8, as well as 7/4 and 7/8. From time to time, a musician may encounter 11/4 time signature, but this is very rare (for example, in the final chorus “Light and Power” from the opera “The Snow Maiden” by N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov).

Measurements 5/4 and 5/8 (“five quarters” and “five eighths”) - five-beat, they are based on the same principle, only in one case the pulsation occurs in quarter durations, and in the other - in eighths. Since these sizes are complex, they consist of two simple ones - bilobed and trilobed. Moreover, variations of these sizes are possible depending on the order of the simple ones.

For example, if in 5/4 there is 2/4 first and then 3/4, then the relatively strong beat is on the third beat. But if in the same size a three-beat is placed first, and after two-beats, then in this case a relatively strong beat will already fall on the fourth beat, thus one accent will be shifted, and this will change the entire internal rhythmic organization in the measure.

In order for the performer to know which version of the mixed size he will be dealing with, the notes often indicate in parentheses next to the set size which simple meters it is composed of. Based on the presented sum of sizes, it is usually clear what comes first - 2/4 or 3/4. For example: 5/4 (2/4 + 3/4) or 5/4 (3/4 + 2/4). The same goes for size 5/8.

Sizes 7/4 and 7/8 - composed of three simple ones, one of which is trilobed, and the remaining two are bipartite. This size can most often be seen in Russian treatments folk songs, sometimes also in instrumental music mainly Russian composers.

Variants of addition of the seven-beat meter differ in the location of the three-beat meter (more often it is located either at the beginning or at the end of the measure, much less often - in the middle).

We have discussed the main musical sizes. As in any business, it was important to understand the principle, then when you encounter some unusual size, you will no longer get lost. However, if there are still things that you do not understand, then write your questions in the comments. Perhaps they will help to significantly improve this material.