Introduction
“The subdivision of a time into perceptible sections; the grouping of musical sounds, principally using duration and stress. With melody and harmony, rhythm is one of the three basic elements of music” (“Rhythm”).
Rhythm can be found in many things in life like walking or dancing (Carol). A rhythm needs several steps to be created. There are many types of musical rhythms. Rhythm is used in music and for other purposes. The nature of rhythm is different between cultures. Rhythm isn’t always used in music (“Elements of Music”).
What is the Rhythm? And How Can A Rhythm Be Formed?
The rhythm is “the irregular pattern (or a pattern) which uses the beat as its foundation. Rhythm and beat must always work in conjunction with one another” (White). A rhythm gets formed by beats. The beat is also known as the “pulse”. “The beat (pulse) is the fundamental element of music which divides time into equal portions that steadily paces a piece of music. There are two types of beats: primary (strong or accented) and secondary (weak)” (White). The Beats should be patterned to create a rhythm. Patterning the beats results in a thing called the “meter”. The meter consists of multiple patterns; each pattern is called a “measure”. The measure includes one “accented beat” and one weaker beat (or a group of weaker beats) after it. The accented beat can be accepted either in its loudness or in its length. The accented beat is also known as the “downbeat” (“Elements of Music”). For example, here is a series of patterned beats: A-B-B; A-B-B; A-B-B. The beats “A” are louder than beats “B”. The beats “A” are the downbeats. The whole series of beats is the meter. Every pattern (A-B-B) is a measure.
“If a musician says something is in two-four or six-eight “time”, then they are referring to the number of beats in a measure” (Esantra).
There are two different forms of patterning the beats: Patterning the beats into multiple equal patterns and patterning the bests into unequal patterns. In the first case, the beats are “regular”. In the second case, the beats are “irregular” (“Elements of Music”). Thus, the “rhythm can be regular or free (irregular)” (Carol).
How Did the Human Use the Rhythm Around the World?
People started to use the rhythm thousands of years ago. It was used with poetry, song, and plays. In ancient religions, people used rhythm in music. But in the Christian world, using any kind of rhythm or music in chanting was not allowed because it was considered “pagan” (“Elements of Music”). In the west, they use “duple, triple, and quadruple meters. Quintuple, sextuple, and septuple meters (meters of five, six, and seven) are also common in the West. Certain non-Western musics (for example, the music of India, Indonesia, and Africa) use longer meters regularly”. Usually, regular rhythms are used in traditional music. But in some areas in the east side of Europe, people use irregular rhythms (“Elements of Music”).
Music Examples
“Midnight on the Water” is an example of a piece of music that uses three-four time. And “Rites of Man” is an example of one that uses four-four times (Carol).
Conclusion
There was always a relationship between the People and rhythms. People used rhythms in different things in life. Rhythms were used even for religious purposes. Different nations around the world have different tastes in rhythms.
Works Cited
Carol, Bonnie. “Rhythm and You.” Sweet Music Index. 2009. Web.
“Elements of Music – Part Two.” 2009. Web.
Esantra. “How to Distinguish Rhythm in Music.” eHow.com. 2009. Web.
“Rhythm.” Answers.com. 2009. Web.
White, Richard. “How To Read Music.” 2003. Whitco Press. Web.