Rhythm is probably the most basic form of music. Even new born
babies can recognize rhythm.
The Free Dictionary explains
rhythm as: The patterned, recurring alternations of contrasting elements of sound or speech.
Crossroads in Music (p. 12) defines it as: “the temporal organization of sounds in music.” Rhythm is made up of “regularly spaced rhythmic pulses called
beats” and “the speed of the beats is called tempo” (p. 12, 13). These beats are often grouped together “into regularly recurring patterns” known as
meter. Each grouping is called a measure (p 13, 14) and every measure usually has beats that are stronger accented than the other beats.
Note that this is similar to poetry (and therefore lyrics). A poem may also have a rhythm which is structured or regular, which is also known as the
poem’s meter. The groupings in poetry are not called measures, but
feet (singular: foot). Every
foot usually has word syllables that are more stressed than other syllables.
Not all songs have a clear distinguishable rhythm – in which case we refer to them as having
flexible or unmetered rhythm. Poems that do not have a clear meter are known as
free verse or
cadenced verse. Some pieces of music may have multiple layers of rhythm sounding at the same time – this is referred to as
polyrhythm. Sometimes polyrhythm may be in contradiction and is known as
syncopation or
off-beats. This happens when rhythms are not perfectly aligned with the strong pulses in the underlying meter. (
Crossroads in Music, p. 16, 17.)
