Beat and time signature. Merged and weak beats

This article simply and clearly presents basic information about the basics of musical literacy necessary for every guitarist, such as notes and note durations, bars and meters in music, musical rhythm and tempo, strong and weak beats of a musical measure, syncopation and beat.

Notes in music. Note durations

In fact, each note is a separate sound that you get by pressing a guitar string to the fretboard and striking it with a pick or finger (more on that). When comparing a piece of music to a story, you can compare the notes to the letters that make up the story. Scales are made up of a certain sequence of notes, in particular the megapopular, and. Notes have their own duration - the length of sound in time. At this point in the development of civilization, the main note durations known to mankind are: whole note, half note, quarter note, eighth note, sixteenth note. Also, but infrequently, thirty-second and sixty-fourth notes occur.

The duration of notes is calculated as follows:

Imagine an apple. In its original form it is a whole note. By cutting it into two equal parts we get two half notes; by cutting each of the halves we get four quarter notes. In turn, half quarter notes are eighth notes, and half eighth notes are sixteenth notes. The same applies to musical pauses - breaks in the sound. Let's depict this graphically.

The main thing you need to understand is that two half notes, four quarter notes, eight eighth notes and sixteen sixteenth notes have the same duration as one whole note.

Notes with a dot. Bonded notes

Even if you have not yet encountered such options for recording note durations, you cannot do without them, especially since there is nothing complicated about them.

A note with a dot continues to last half of its original sound.

Bonded notes require you to simply glue together their total duration. By the way, it is “leagues” in musical notation that indicate such guitar playing techniques as.

Measures and meters in music

Every piece of music consists of measures separated by vertical lines.

Imagine a staircase in the entrance. We consider each flight of it as a measure, each step as a note or chord. Actually, the size is considered to be the number of steps in each flight. Pretty simple, right? Being the basis of musical rhythm, meter contains the same number of notes-steps of a certain duration in each measure-flight. Typically, the time signature is indicated at the beginning of the piece.

The time signature 4/4 (four quarters) is the simplest and, at the same time, the most popular in all types of music. Two fours means that the duration of each measure is equal to the duration of four quarter notes. How to count the rhythm, you ask? With even beats at the tempo of a specific piece of music. In this case, four blows, for example with a foot on the floor, for each beat. Next we will look at rhythm counting in more detail.

Rhythm and tempo in music. Determine and keep the rhythm

First, don't confuse rhythm with tempo. The rhythm specified by the size means the number of beats per beat, while the tempo regulates their speed. The easiest way to learn how to keep a rhythm is to use a metronome. This device is inexpensive and will serve you faithfully. You can also start using it right now on our website, setting the required size and tempo yourself.

Strong and weak beats in music

Each individual bar consisting of notes is divided into beats. Remember the counting of note durations: 1 and, 2 and, 3 and, 4 and. So, counting in a similar way, you and I will get strong beats on 1,2,3, and weak beats on “and”. Actually, the metronome counts down strong beats.

To avoid confusion, all information about shares is indicated in size. The upper number, the numerator, if so more clearly indicates the number of strong beats, the lower, denominator - their duration. Also, in musical notation, strong beats are often indicated by the sign “ > » higher or lower note.

Syncopation and beat in music

Syncope, or in common parlance – shift, refers to the transfer of stress from a strong beat to a weak one. By using syncopation correctly, you can give your music an interesting and unusual sound, which is especially true for metal and jazz music.

Pantera - Cowboys From Hell

A beat in music involves skipping a strong beat and introducing vocals or any of the instruments of the group on a weak beat.

Let's summarize some results:

1. Notes and pauses form musical measures, which in turn constitute each piece of music. Types of notes and pauses by duration: whole, half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth, thirty-second and sixty-fourth.

2. The rhythm of a song is determined by the size, and the speed of execution by the tempo.

3. The simplest and most popular time signature in modern music is 4/4 (four quarters).

4. The number and duration of strong beats of a musical measure are determined by the size. The downbeat is counted with a kick or metronome and coincides with the rhythm of the piece. Using downbeats of a bar means syncopation or offbeat.

See you again, friends!

In this part of the book...

In this part, you will become familiar with what forms the basis of any music - rhythm. Here you will learn how to read various notes and pauses, understand how to count rhythm and determine musical meters, and become familiar with concepts such as tempo and dynamics. If music theory is new to you, then this is where you should start reading the book.

Chapter 4

Musical sizes.
In this chapter...
> Staff
> Musical time signatures and how to determine them
>What is the difference between simple and complex dimensions
> What is tact

If you're afraid that you won't be able to figure out where you are in a long piece of music, then you have nothing to fear. The brilliant creators of musical notation also came up with a way to organize the avalanche of notes and pauses. Once you become familiar with the dimensions and structure of the staff, including the beats, all you have to do is learn how to keep time.

Meet the musical staff.

Notes and rests in music are written on rulers, which we call staves (or staves; you'll learn much more about staves and staves in Chapter 7). The staff consists of five parallel horizontal lines separated by four spaces (Fig. 4.1).

Treble and bass clefs

Notes and rests are written on the rulers and in the spaces of the staff. Which notes are located on specific lines and between them depends on which key is at the beginning of the staff. Take another look at Fig. 4.1. An elegant icon that vaguely resembles the Latin G is called a treble clef. On the right in Fig. 4.1 at the beginning of the camp there is an icon resembling the number 9, which is called the bass clef. The treble clef is for recording higher ones, and the bass clef is for recording lower ones. In music for some instruments, such as the piano, where both staves are used, the treble clef is drawn above the bass clef, resulting in a multi-line notation system, or piano stave. (In Chapter 7, you'll learn all about piano notation.)

Size designation

In musical notation, immediately after the key at the beginning of the staff, you will see two numbers located one above the other (three possible options are shown in Fig. 4.2).

Such a pair of numbers is called size, which, by the way, is the main character of this chapter. The size is set in order to tell the performer about two important things. S Number of counts in each measure. The top number in the time signature tells you the number of beats to be counted in each measure. If the top number is three, then there are three counts for each measure. S What share corresponds to one account. The bottom number in the time signature tells you how much time is on one count - most often it is an eighth or a fourth beat. If the bottom number is four, then one count is a quarter. If an eight is written below, then one count is equal to an eighth beat.

So you

A measure is the part of the musical notation between two vertical lines that cross the staff from the top to the bottom line. In musical notation, the measures come one after another, and the number of beats in each measure is determined by the top number in the notation of the musical signature. The first beat of each measure, on the count of "one", is strong. The top number in the time signature tells you how many beats there should be in a measure, as shown in Fig. 4.3.

As we found out in Chapters 2 and 3, when playing, keeping a constant count in your head is extremely important: the score determines the music that will be produced as a result. Correct counting is a key component in music. You must be so deeply imbued with the idea of ​​counting that you stop noticing how you count out fractions. Practicing beat counting is a great way to ensure that you are playing the piece according to the rhythm the composer intended (see Chapter 2 for more on rhythms and counting).

The account according to the size resembles driving school. The instructor teaches you to constantly look at the road in front of you because your body (and the car) are moving where your gaze is directed. As you become an experienced driver, you don't even notice that your eyes are constantly focused on the stretch of road in front of you. When fiddling with the radio or talking to the person sitting next to you, you automatically concentrate on driving straight and not meandering all over the road - even if you are asked difficult questions or the disc refuses to be inserted into the player. The main thing is to train your consciousness, teach it to automatically follow the rhythm, and once you achieve this, you will no longer have to force yourself to count in your head - you will count automatically. There are two types of time signatures.
> Simple.
> Complex.

Simple sizes

Simple musical meters are easier to count, since the one-two count in a piece of music seems most natural to the listener and performer. A simple size does not satisfy four requirements.
1. Each score is divided into two equal components.
This rule is self-evident when applied to eighths and even smaller ones. In simple time, two eighths are always connected to each other by a crossbar called a rib, and the same goes for four sixteenths and eight thirty-seconds. (If you have two sixteenth notes and an eighth note that go on the same note, then those three notes are also connected by an edge.)
In other words, if there is more than one note on one count, then they are all always grouped together in such a way as to make up one count. In Fig. Figure 4.4 shows a diagram of the grouping of notes in a simple meter.
2. A note that goes on one count must be a note without dots.
When counting the rhythm of a song to yourself, you should count only the notes without dots, which can be divided into two equal durations. Usually this means quarters, but sometimes they can be half, whole or eighths. For example, in 4/4 time, silently counting the bar, you count: “One two three four” over and over, and in 3/4 time you count: “One two three, one two three.” If the size is 2/4, you need to count “one two”.
3. The top number is not divisible by 3 unless it is 3.
For example, 3/4 and 3/8 are considered simple time signatures, while 6/4,6/8 and 9/16 are considered complex time signatures. 4. The number of beats in each measure is the same.
All measures of a piece in simple meter contain the same number of beats. Once you get a feel for the time signature, you don't have to worry anymore: just make sure you play the notes rhythmically.

Measures and counting in simple time signature

Measures are designed specifically to help performers keep track of where they are in the piece and play in the correct time signature. In simple meter, it is in the bars that you can feel the true rhythm of the piece, even if you are just looking at the notation without playing the notes. In simple meter, the strong beat is always the first beat of each measure. This means that when you see a line like the one shown in Fig. 4.5, the rhythm is counted as follows: ONE two three four ONE two three four ONE two three four.

Recall that the bottom number 4 says that there are quarter beats per beat, and the top number 4 says that there are four counts in each measure - or four (and only four!) quarter beats.
Here are three examples of common simple sizes.
>>> 4/4 (four quarters). Widely used in popular classical music, rock music, jazz, country, as well as in styles such as blue grass, hip hop and house.
>>> 3/4 (three quarters). Used primarily in waltzes, but also in Western European and country ballads.
>>> 2/4 (two quarters). Used in polkas and marches
Instead of writing 4/4, some composers use the letter C to denote this meter. So if you see a C in place of the meter, then the piece is written in 4/4 time.
If the piece is 3/4 in size, as shown in Fig. 4.6, then you need to calculate it like this:

Now attention! If the time signature is 3/8, then one count corresponds to an eighth beat, as shown in Fig. 4.7.

Count the rhythm of the musical fragment shown in Fig. 4.8, you need this: ONE two three ONE two three ONE two three.
3/8 and 3/4 have almost the same rhythmic structure (in terms of rhythm counting), but since 3/8 features eighths rather than fourths, a piece in 3/8 must be played twice as fast as the pieces by 3/4, since an eighth beat is equal to half the duration of a quarter.
If the size is 2/2, then a half share goes to one count. And since the top number shows that the number of counts in a measure is two, there will be two half beats in each measure, as shown in Fig. 4.8.

Calculate the musical fragment shown in Fig. 4.8, you need this: ONE and TWO.
Meters with a "numerator" of 2 were widely used in medieval and even earlier music. The music of those times used a rhythmic structure called "minim", based on the rhythm of the human heart.

Learning to count in simple time

In this section, you can practice counting the rhythm (rather than reading the notes) shown in Fig. 4.9-4.13. When counting out loud, do not forget to stress the first beat.

Complex dimensions

Complex musical time signatures, as you might guess, are a little trickier than simple ones. Here is a short list of rules that will help you instantly determine whether a size is difficult.
1. The top number, if it is greater than three, is divisible by three.
Any size whose top number is 6,9,12,15, etc. is difficult. 3/4 and 3/8 are not compound time signatures because the top number is 3. The most common compound time signatures are 6/8, 9/8, and 12/8. See fig. 4.14, which shows an example of a complex size.

>>> 2. A quarter with a dot or three eighths will be included in one count.
>>>3. Each account is divided into three components.
Again, everything becomes obvious when it comes to eighths and smaller beats. In simple meter, two eighths and even numbers of sixteenths (2 or 4) are always connected by edges. In a complex measure, three eighths or six sixteenths are connected by ribs.
In Fig. Figure 4.15 shows a grouping of notes with a "base" of three, which is used in a compound time signature.

Measures and counting in complex time signature

The only significant difference between works written in simple and complex meters is that they sound differently, and this is felt by both the listener and the performer.
In a complex measure, not only the first beat of each measure is strong, as in a simple measure - a slightly weaker emphasis is also placed on each subsequent beat of the metronome. Thus, in each bar of a piece in 6/8 there are two clearly accented beats, in 9/8 there are three accented beats, in 12/8 there are four.
Two examples of complex musical meters.
>>> Time signature 6/8 is used in fast waltzes and Latin music of Mexican "mariachos".
>>>12/8 is used in 12-bar blues and doo-wop.
To determine the number of accented notes in each measure of a complex time signature, divide the top number by three. This will help you determine the tempo-rhythm of the music being played and thus learn how to place accents. For example, in a piece in 6/8, you need to emphasize the first beat of each! long bar, but at the same time it is also slightly accentuated by the second group of eighths in the bar, as shown in Fig. 4.16.

So, the placement of accents in Fig. 4.16 will look like this: ONE two three FOUR five six ONE two three FOUR five six. If the size looks scary, such as 9/4, as shown in fig. 4.17, then you need to count the time signature (not notes!) like this:

In simple meters, the rhythm of a piece of music can be broken down into two-part segments. In complex meters, the rhythm is divided into tripartite segments.

Learning to count in complex time

Using the examples in this section, you can practice counting the dimensions shown in Fig. 4.18-4.20. When counting out loud, remember to place a slight emphasis on the first beat and additional emphasis on the “pulse point,” which usually follows every third beat. (The added "-s" and capital letters are meant to emphasize the rhythmic pattern of certain notes in the meter. We understand that this technique is not entirely scientific, but it will give you a general idea of ​​how to count beats in different time signatures.)

Asymmetrical sizes

Asymmetrical meters (sometimes called compound or irregular) typically contain five or seven beats—as opposed to the traditional two-, three-, and four-part groupings of notes within measures that we have looked at so far.
Asymmetrical meters are often found in traditional music from different countries. They are widespread in both European and Eastern (in particular, Indian) popular and ethnic music.
When playing music in an asymmetrical meter, the score (and rhythm) sounds and feels slightly different than in music written in a simple or complex meter.
For example, in Fig. 4.21, the count is determined by the arrangement of the half beats in each measure, so that the emphasis is on the third beat in the first measure and on the fourth in the second.
In Fig. 4.22, the grouping of eighths shows where the accents should be placed - on the first eighth on each edge.
Music in 5/4, 5/8 and 5/16 time signatures is usually divided into two counts, either as two + three or three + two. The placement of accents does not have to be the same in all measures - only the number of beats in each measure is constant.

In Fig. Figures 4-23 and 4.24 show musical phrases written in 7/4, 7/8 and 7/16 time signatures. Remember that the emphasis changes from bar to bar.

It should be noted again that asymmetrical dimensions are considered irregular and difficult only from the point of view of Western civilization. Irregular meters have been considered absolutely correct throughout the history of music throughout the world, including in Ancient Greece and Persia; they can still be heard, for example in Bulgarian folk music. Many modern Western composers and groups - Steve Albini, Week, Dave Brubeck, June of 44, Andrew Lloyd Weber, Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd, Yo-Yo Ma, Bobby McFerrin and Stereolab - use asymmetrical time signatures in their music. An entire genre of rock music, the so-called "math rock", is built on the use of such composite time signatures as 7/8, 11/8, 13/8, etc., and its representatives strive to avoid the standard rock time signature 4/ 4.

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 are talking about meter, 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, compound, 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 "5/4" time signature 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. For homework, try to figure out for yourself what sizes can be combined to 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, unequal meter can be found in folk songwriting. 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 such a type 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.

The basis of the modern rhythmic system is the metrhythm. To understand this system, such concepts as meter, beat and size are of great importance.

Meter is a regular alternation of heavy and light (strong and weak) beats of equal duration.

The easiest way to understand meter is to pronounce a word. For example, if you pronounce the word music - music, you can hear that the accents are repeated at regular intervals. In this word, this gap is equal to three syllables mu-zy-ka_ mu-zy-ka. In music, this would be equivalent to a meter in three feet.

If you pronounce the word hand, the accents will be repeated after one syllable and a two-foot meter will be formed.

The emphasis on the first syllable is called the strong beat in music, and the rest are weak.

The distance from one strong beat to another is called a beat. Just as fractions of a meter, divided into strong and weak ones, form a beat, in turn, beats, thanks to the uniform alternation of heavy and light beats, can be combined into groups.

Meter, clock pulsation as a uniform system of time counting is in constant contradiction with phrasing, articulation, including mode-harmonic, linear sides, rhythmic and, and this contradiction is the norm in the music of the 17th-20th centuries.

Outside of metrical organization, rhythmic clarity cannot arise. The role of meter in rhythmic movement can be likened to the role of mode in pitch organization: strong beats correspond to the supporting, stable sounds of the mode, and weak beats and different durations of the rhythmic pattern correspond to unstable ones.

Just as a rhythmic pattern develops on the basis of a fret, a rhythmic pattern develops on the basis of a meter. Thus, meter and in music are practically inseparable from each other.


The top line is meter, the bottom line is meter.

The concept of meter is very close to the concept size. If the meter determines only bipartite or tripartite (I already wrote about this), then the size is a specification of the meter, that is, it connects the meter with a certain duration of the beats. Thus, the metrical base can be the same, but the duration of the beats can be different: they can be expressed in halves, quarters, eighths and other durations.

The size is indicated by two Arabic numerals arranged vertically . The upper number of the size indicator indicates the number of metric shares, and the lower number indicates the multiple of each share.

Dimensions are divided into simple, complex homogeneous And complex mixed.

Simple sizes consist of one rhythmic foot, i.e. can only have two or three lobes. The most common sizes are 2/4.3/4.2/2.3/2, etc. In simple sizes, one strong beat is their main distinguishing property. The meter is 2/4, and ¾ is typical for the Waltz; the Waltz can also be recorded in 3/8 at a slower tempo.

Complex uniform dimensions – are formed by gluing two, three or more identical simple sizes. Thus we get sizes 4/4.6/4.6/8.

Please note that in complex meters there are two or more rhythmic feet, i.e. In addition to the strong main lobe, another one is formed at the junction of the sizes - this lobe is called relatively strong. For example, in 4/4 time, the third beat is the gluing point of 2/4 time and therefore it is relatively strong. In 6/4 time, the 4th quarter will be relatively strong.

An important note applies to sizes 6/4 and 6/8. Sometimes these sizes are confused with simple ones, since outwardly they look the same:


The first measure presents an incorrect grouping of accents, since it can be reduced to a simple meter with a counting beat equal to half. This grouping tells us the meter is 3/2, which is simple. That is, for the correct determination of the size, the counting fraction is also important, which determines the frequency of changing rhythmic feet within a complex size. This can also be illustrated with the sizes 6/8 and 3/4:


Pay attention to the different rhythmic notation (grouping) - it is explained by the presence of a relatively strong beat in the first measure and the absence of one in the second.

Complex mixed sizes, as you probably already guessed, are formed by mixing unequal simple ones. For example, ¾ + 2/4 form the size 5/4. But also the size 2/4 + 3/4 form 5/4.

This duality is a characteristic feature of complex heterogeneous sizes, which is very often played up by modern ones. How to determine which sizes are mixed? By accents and grouping. For example, the famous Take Five theme is written like this:


From the recording it is clear that this is a combination of ¾ + 2/4. If we turn it in a mirror, we get reverse mixing.

Sizes 7/8, 11/8 and others are also formed. A distinctive feature of such sizes is the uneven alternation of rhythmic feet.

In addition to those described above, variable meters are also found in music. A variable is a size with a changing number of counting parts.

If the alternation (change) of certain sizes in a work is carried out strictly systematically, then such a variable size is called periodic. In this case, at the beginning of the piece, the designations of both (or several) sizes are immediately set in accordance with the order of their alternation.

If the change of different sizes occurs only occasionally, that is, without a specific system, then this size is called non-periodic variable size. In this case, a designation of the newly arrived size is displayed inside the piece each time.

The system of variable meters is characteristic of the free meter of music of the 20th century, as opposed to the strictly classical meter of the previous three centuries.

It is also worth mentioning the organization of the meter without barlines and without time signature. As a rule, in such music the meter is a freely variable quantity practically inseparable from . And although the ratios of durations are preserved, such concepts as a strong and weak beat do not matter, which is typical of those already considered by me.

The theory of tact in the 20th century. has been replenished with an unconventional variety - the concept of unequal tact.

It came from Bulgaria, where samples of folk songs and dances began to be recorded in such bars. In an uneven beat, one beat is one and a half times longer than the other and is written as a note with a dot (“limping”). For adequate sound notation of such mixed measures, Bulgarian musicologists even offer numbers with fractions, for example, instead of 5/16, 7/16 - designations: 2 ½ /8 or 3 ½ /8.

New, non-beat forms of organization appeared in the 20th century, along with a free time meter. The newest forms include, in particular, rhythmic progressions and series based on the principle of temporal irregularity, aperiodicity, as opposed to the principles of tactometry.

• 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. A strong beat is the beat of a bass drum (kick), and 3 weak beats are 3 cymbals.

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 upon a time suggested: “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.

whole	1
half	1								2
quarter	1				2				3				4
eighth	1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8
sixteenth	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16

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.