Rhythm
How durations and accents are organised in time
Related
Rhythm is the organisation of sound in time: how long notes last, when they begin, where the weight falls and where it lifts. It is broader than "beat" — the beat is a steady pulse, rhythm is what actually happens on it; it is broader than "tempo" too — the same rhythmic pattern at a slow and a fast speed has two characters.
The usual mistake is to equate rhythm with "a combination of note values". Real rhythm also includes accent, articulation and silence: the same four notes legato or staccato, stressed or light, feel completely different.
Read deeper → Rhythm
Sources
- 节奏与拍、拍号、速度的区别，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Rhythm"；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.