DOCSLIB.ORG

MTO 23.4: Wells, a Generalized Intervallic

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
MTO 23.4: Wells, a Generalized Intervallic A Generalized Intervallic Approach to Metric Conflict in Liszt * Robert L. Wells NOTE: The examples for the (text-only) PDF version of this item are available online at: h)p://www.mtosmt.org/iss.es/mto.17.23.4/mto.17.23.4.wells.php 4E5WORDS: Liszt, Lewin, rhythm, meter, GIS, trans ormation theory, metrical dissonance, metric conflict A:STRACT: The m.sic o Franz Liszt has become widely recognized by m.sic theorists or its harmonic and ormal innovations. However, li)le a)ention has been given to advent.ro.s rhythmic/metric aspects o Liszt’s compositional style: speci=cally, he req.ently incorporates rich metric str.ct.res in which the notated metric layer, indicated by time signat.res and bars, and heard metric layer, given by c.es in the so.nding m.sic, are locked in an evolving conflict. To model s.ch interactions, this article develops a new analytical system based on Lewin’s generalized interval system (GIS) concept, constr.cting a new three-component metric direct prod.ct GIS called Met . The article then introd.ces specialized techniq.es incl.ding intervallic decomposition, expansion, and contraction that allow the analyst to organize, compare, and relate diverse Met intervals. The remainder o the article applies this new system to preliminary analyses o Liszt’s “6ilde AagdB and “Invocation,B providing signi=cant local and global insights into these works’ metric str.ct.res and s.ggesting new possibilities or metric analysis. Received May 2017 Col.me 12, N.mber 3, December 1010 Copyright E 1010 Society or M.sic Theory 1. Introduction F1] In recent years, Franz Liszt has garnered increasing interest among m.sic theorists for his innovations in harmony and form. (1) However, li)le aention has been given to rhythmic/metric aspects o his compositional style: (2) in partic.lar, he freq.ently incorporates rich rhythmic str.ct.res in which the notated meter, given by time signat.res and bar line placement, and the meter perceived by the listener are locked in an evolving conflict. Example 1 , rom Liszt’s “Invocation,” ill.strates. A listener witho.t access to the score wo.ld likely hear the first so.nding chord as an opening downbeat, followed by several two-beat meas.res. A glance at the score, however, reveals that the opening “downbeat” is act.ally beat twoH f.rthermore, the notated meter Processing math: 100I 1 of 28 2 3 in the opening is not 4, b.t 4. While the so.nding m.sic does event.ally fall in line with the 3 notated 4 meter, the opening o the piece demonstrates a striking contrast between what the listener hears, or metrically entrains, and what is wri)en. (3) These considerations s.ggest the presence o two distinct metrical layers: a layer s.pported by auditory c.es in the so.nding m.sic and only indirectly implied by the m.sical notation, and an idealized layer represented by time signat.res and barring that hearing alone may not reveal. F1G At this point, one might be tempted, as a listener or per ormer, to prioritize one o these two layers. However, I arg.e that for per ormers and in ormed listeners, these layers form a larger, more complex m.sical experience than that provided by either layer on its own. (4) This perspective motivates an important q.estion: how might relationships and interactions between conflicting metrical layers be modeled over the co.rse o a piece when one layer is sonically artic.lated while the other is cognitively “internalizedB by the in ormed listenerJ While the present article will oc.s on the m.sic o Liszt, this q.estion has broader relevance to inn.merable Western and non- 6estern m.sical styles, from Brahms to Stravinsky to So.th Indian Carnatic m.sic. (5) F2G To diLerentiate between these two metric layers in disc.ssion, I will tentatively call the internalized, re erential metric layer the “X-layer” and the sonically artic.lated layer the “Y-layer,B 3 For instance, in Example 1, the notated 4 meter de=nes the X-layer, while the heard two-beat meas.res locally de=ne the Y-layer. Now, observe that i the beginning o each two-beat “Y-meas.re” marks a “Y-downbeat,B then the location o the Y-downbeat changes with respect to the X-meas.re over the first three meas.res. Namely, the Y-downbeat begins on beat 2 o the X -meas.re, b.t then shi ts s.ccessively to beat 1, beat 2, beat 2 again, and finally back to beat 1 in m. 3, where the X- and Y-layers align. (6) F3G While these sorts o metric relationships have not been widely disc.ssed in Liszt’s m.sic, Krebs (19NN ) has thoro.ghly treated conflicts between metrical layers in Robert Sch.mann’s m.sic. Whereas Krebs’s basic analytical units are the metrically consonant or dissonant states, however, Lewin’s ( 1987 ) concept o the generalized interval system (GIS) s.ggests searching for an alternative approach that emphasizes not points or states in a m.sical space, b.t the intervals and changes between these obPects. This perspective forms the springboard or the c.rrent st.dy, which will model the interactions between X- and Y-metric layers (0$ in Liszt’s m.sic using a newly de=ned GIS and will apply these ideas to two preliminary Liszt analyses. (8) As will become clear, Lewinian GIS theory permits a q.anti=able approach to metric conflict that can acco.nt for arbitrarily long or short metric spans and can analyze larger conflicting str.ct.res in terms o s.bcomponents. :eyond drawing upon GIS theory for its intrinsic use .lness, the c.rrent proPect aims, in applying Lewin’s theories to rhythmic/metric st.dy, to contrib.te to a generally underdeveloped side o GIS theory. (N) F5] Example 2 presents another example o metric conflict, from Liszt’s Totentanz for piano and orchestra. At rehearsal H, Liszt begins a variant o the Dies irae theme on beat 2, and d.e to the phrasing and harmonic s.ccessions (e.g., the fermata and rest preceding the melody and the consistent appearance o local tonics on beat 2 and dominants on beat 1), beat 2 so.nds like a downbeat and beat 1 an upbeat thro.gho.t the passage. In Krebs’s ( 1NNN ) terminology, rather than a metrical “gro.ping dissonanceB (31) like in Example 1, a “displacement dissonanceB (22$ o the 2 orm D2+1 (or D1R1) occ.rs. In other words, s.perimposed over the 4 X-meter is a conflicting Y 2 -meter o 4-shi ted-by-one-beat. Altho.gh Krebs’s label is use .l for describing the passage’s metrical state, it does not reveal how the m.sic reached this displaced state, or what metrical processes might restore metrical consonance. In contrast, Lewin’s GIS machinery will allow not only diLerentiation between displaced and non-displaced metric states, b.t also representation o the dynamic shi t in Y-downbeat location res.lting from entering or leaving s.ch a metrically Processing math: 100I 2 of 28 displaced passage. FMG It now deserves emphasis that the GIS to be developed in this article has a percept.al component, being partly based on a.ditorily derived metric interpretations. As s.ch, applications o the GIS will draw upon Lerdahl and AackendoL’s A Generative Theory of Tonal Music ( 1982 ). In this landmark work, the authors assert that meter is a concept broader than the simple barring on the page, de=ning metrical str.ct.re as “the reg.lar, hierarchical pa)ern o beats to which the listener relates m.sical events” and describing how “phenomenal accents” in the score—c.es s.ch as dynamic changes, leaps, or harmonic changes—are key in creating a metric perception (10$. Central to their metric theory is a set o fo.r “metrical well- ormedness r.les” (MWFRs), which determine the set o “possible metrical str.ct.resB (68), and “metrical pre erence r.les” (MPRs), thro.gh which a listener may choose among the possible metric interpretations for a m.sical passage (03$. They note, however, that while M6FRs 1 and 2 are “common to all types o m.sic,B M6FRs 3 and 4 may be “open to variationB or simply omi)ed (N0$. (10) There ore, to accommodate metric hearings involving asymmetrical fives, sevens, and the like, the c.rrent proPect will omit M6FRs 3 and 4. O the MPRs, the most important for the c.rrent st.dy will be MPR 1 (Parallelism), which pre ers that parallel m.sical gro.pings receive parallel metrical str.ct.res (75)H MPR 2 (Strong Beat Early), which pre ers that a m.sical gro.p’s strongest beat appears early in the gro.p (06); MPR 4 (Stress), which pre ers metrical str.ct.res where accented notes are metrical strong beats (0N$; and MPR 5 (Length), which pre ers metrical str.ct.res in which strong beats occ.r at the initiation o long pitch, dynamic, artic.lation, or harmonic events (O3). Even when I do not re erence these r.les explicitly, they are at work in the backgro.nd as I select metrical hearings or the Liszt works in q.estion. F0G Signi=cantly, rather than taking Hasty’s ( /NN0 ) moment-by-moment experiential approach, I will foc.s on what Lerdahl and AackendoL ( 1983 ) call “the =nal state o [the listener’sG .nderstanding” (4); namely, the metric str.ct.res being analyzed will be final metric interpretations for m.sical passages following care .l reflection on the rhythmic and metric perceptions that the passages ind.ce.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • TIME SIGNATURES, TEMPO, BEAT and GORDONIAN SYLLABLES EXPLAINED
    TIME SIGNATURES, TEMPO, BEAT and GORDONIAN SYLLABLES EXPLAINED TIME SIGNATURES Time Signatures are represented by a fraction. The top number tells the performer how many beats in each measure. This number can be any number from 1 to infinity. However, time signatures, for us, will rarely have a top number larger than 7. The bottom number can only be the numbers 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, et c. These numbers represent the note values of a whole note, half note, quarter note, eighth note, sixteenth note, thirty- second note, sixty-fourth note, one hundred twenty-eighth note, two hundred fifty-sixth note, five hundred twelfth note, et c. However, time signatures, for us, will only have a bottom numbers 2, 4, 8, 16, and possibly 32. Examples of Time Signatures: TEMPO Tempo is the speed at which the beats happen. The tempo can remain steady from the first beat to the last beat of a piece of music or it can speed up or slow down within a section, a phrase, or a measure of music. Performers need to watch the conductor for any changes in the tempo. Tempo is the Italian word for “time.” Below are terms that refer to the tempo and metronome settings for each term. BPM is short for Beats Per Minute. This number is what one would set the metronome. Please note that these numbers are generalities and should never be considered as strict ranges. Time Signatures, music genres, instrumentations, and a host of other considerations may make a tempo of Grave a little faster or slower than as listed below.
    [Show full text]
  • SMT Sweelinck Paper Text SHORT V2
    SMT Graduate Workshop Peter Schubert: Renaissance Instrumental Music November 7, 2014 Derek Reme! Musical Architecture in Three Domains: Stretto, Suspension, and Diminution in Sweelinck's Chromatic Fantasia Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck's Chromatic Fantasia is among the most famous keyboard works of the sixteenth century.1 It served as a model for instrumental polyphony that was imitated throughout Europe in the seventeenth century.2 The fantasia's subject is treated in augmentation and diminution in four rhythmic levels and also in four-voice stretto. The initial stretto passage, which is repeated in diminution in the final climax of the piece, contains an unusual accented dissonance; in this style, accented dissonance is reserved only for suspensions. There are three metrical levels of suspensions used throughout the piece, which parallel the four rhythmic levels of the subject's augmentation and diminution – only a whole note suspension is missing. I propose that the unusual accented dissonance in the first four-voice stretto passage is actually a rearticulated whole note suspension, representing the missing fourth metrical level in that domain. Therefore, this stretto passage combines two domains at their fourth and most heightened level: stretto in four voices and suspension at the whole note. This passage also represents a structural "pillar," which, through its repetition, divides the piece into three large sections. In addition, the middle section contains two analogous "internal pillars," which further subdivide the middle into three subsections. The last large-scale section, the climax, introduces subject stretto at the eighth note level, or !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1 Harold Vogel, "Sweelinck's 'Orfeo' Die 'Fantasia Crommatica,'" Musik in die Kirche, No.
    [Show full text]
  • Notes, Rhythm, and Meter Notes
    Dr. Barbara Murphy University of Tennessee School of Music NOTES, RHYTHM, AND METER NOTES: Notes represent a duration or length of a sound. Notes consist of the head the stem and the flag or beam. note = head + stem + flag NOTE HEADS: The head of the note should be written as an oval (not a round circle) and should be centered on the line or space of the staff that represents the note. STEMS: Stems are notated on the right side of the note head and are ascending if the note head is on the 3rd line of the staff or below that line. Stems are notated on the left side of the note head and are descending if the note is on the 3rd line of the staff or above that line. Stems should be about 1 octave in length and should be straight up and down (not slanted). FLAGS: Flags are notated to the right of the stem whether the stem is on the right or left side of the note head. BEAMS: Notes should be beamed together to show the beat. Beams should therefore not cross beats. Beams should be straight lines, not curves. Beams may be slanted ascending or descending according to the contour of the notes. Beaming notes together may result in shortened or elongated stems on some notes. If beaming eighth notes and sixteenth notes together, sixteenth note beams should always go inside the beginning and ending stems. DURATIONS: Notes can have various durations and various names: American British (older version) double-whole breve whole semi-breve half minim quarter crotchet eighth quaver sixteenth semi-quaver thirty-second demi-semi-quaver sixty-fourth hemi-demi-semi-quaver These notes look like the following: double whole half quarter 8th 16th 32nd 64th whole In the above list, each note duration is one-half the duration of the preceding note duration.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction to Braille Music Transcription
    Introduction to Braille Music Transcription Mary Turner De Garmo Second Edition Revised and edited by Lawrence R. Smith Music Braille Transcriber Bettye Krolick Music Braille Consultant Beverly McKenney Music Braille Transcriber Sandra Kelly Music Braille Advisor Volume I National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped The Library of Congress Washington, DC 2005 Contents VOLUME I Foreword to the 1974 Edition . xi Preface to the 2005 Edition . xii Acknowledgments . xiii How to Use This Book . xiv Related Resources . xiv Overall Plan . xiv References to MBC-97 . xiv Using Computer Assistance . xv Taking the Course . xv References . xvi PART ONE: Basic Procedures and Transcribing Single-Staff Music 1 Formation of the Braille Note . 1 2 Eighth Notes, the Eighth Rest, and Other Basic Signs . 3 General Procedures . 4 Examples for Practice . 4 Procedures Specific to This Book . 7 Drills for Chapter 2 . 7 Exercises for Chapter 2 . 9 3 Quarter Notes, the Quarter Rest, and the Dot . 11 Examples for Practice . 11 Proofreading . 13 Drills for Chapter 3 . 13 Exercises for Chapter 3 . 15 4 Half Notes, the Half Rest, and the Tie . 17 Drills for Chapter 4 . 19 Exercises for Chapter 4 . 20 5 Whole and Double Whole Notes and Rests, Measure Rests, and Transcriber-Added Signs . 23 Various Print Methods for Showing Consecutive Measure Rests . 26 Reading Drill . 28 Drills for Chapter 5 . 30 Exercises for Chapter 5 . 31 6 Accidentals . 33 Directions for Brailling Accidentals . 33 Examples for Practice . 34 Drills for Chapter 6 . 35 i Exercises for Chapter 6 . 37 7 Octave Marks . 39 The Seven Octave Marks .
    [Show full text]
  • 1 an Important Component of Music Is the Rhythm, Or Duration of The
    1 An important component of music is the rhythm, or duration of the sounds. We designate this with whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, eighth notes, etc., the names of which indicate the relative duration of notes (e.g., a half note lasts four times as long as an eighth note). ∼ 3 4 It isd of d courset t necessary to specify the actual (not just relative) duration of sounds. There are several ways to do this, we shall discuss two which reflect the manner in which music is displayed. Printed music groups notes into measures, and begins each line with a time signature which looks like a fraction, and specifies the number of notes in each measure. For example, the time signature 3/4 specifies that each measure contains three quarter notes (or six eighth notes, or a half note and a quarter note, or any collection of notes of equal total duration). (The above schematic is not divided into measures; a whole note would not fit within a measure in 3/4 time.) Indeed, you cannot tell from looking just at a measure whether the time signature is 3/4 or 6/8, but both the top and bottom of the time signature are important for specifying the nature of the rhythm. The top number specifies how many beats (or fundamental time units) there are in a measure, and the bottom number specifies which note represents the fundamental time unit. For example, 3/4 time specifies three beats to a measure with a quarter note representing one beat, 6/8 time specifies six beats to a measure with an eighth note representing one beat.
    [Show full text]
  • Guitar Pro 7 User Guide 1/ Introduction 2/ Getting Started
    Guitar Pro 7 User Guide 1/ Introduction 2/ Getting started 2/1/ Installation 2/2/ Overview 2/3/ New features 2/4/ Understanding notation 2/5/ Technical support 3/ Use Guitar Pro 7 3/A/1/ Writing a score 3/A/2/ Tracks in Guitar Pro 7 3/A/3/ Bars in Guitar Pro 7 3/A/4/ Adding notes to your score. 3/A/5/ Insert invents 3/A/6/ Adding symbols 3/A/7/ Add lyrics 3/A/8/ Adding sections 3/A/9/ Cut, copy and paste options 3/A/10/ Using wizards 3/A/11/ Guitar Pro 7 Stylesheet 3/A/12/ Drums and percussions 3/B/ Work with a score 3/B/1/ Finding Guitar Pro files 3/B/2/ Navigating around the score 3/B/3/ Display settings. 3/B/4/ Audio settings 3/B/5/ Playback options 3/B/6/ Printing 3/B/7/ Files and tabs import 4/ Tools 4/1/ Chord diagrams 4/2/ Scales 4/3/ Virtual instruments 4/4/ Polyphonic tuner 4/5/ Metronome 4/6/ MIDI capture 4/7/ Line In 4/8 File protection 5/ mySongBook 1/ Introduction Welcome! You just purchased Guitar Pro 7, congratulations and welcome to the Guitar Pro family! Guitar Pro is back with its best version yet. Faster, stronger and modernised, Guitar Pro 7 offers you many new features. Whether you are a longtime Guitar Pro user or a new user you will find all the necessary information in this user guide to make the best out of Guitar Pro 7. 2/ Getting started 2/1/ Installation 2/1/1 MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS macOS X 10.10 / Windows 7 (32 or 64-Bit) Dual-core CPU with 4 GB RAM 2 GB of free HD space 960x720 display OS-compatible audio hardware DVD-ROM drive or internet connection required to download the software 2/1/2/ Installation on Windows Installation from the Guitar Pro website: You can easily download Guitar Pro 7 from our website via this link: https://www.guitar-pro.com/en/index.php?pg=download Once the trial version downloaded, upgrade it to the full version by entering your licence number into your activation window.
    [Show full text]
  • Numbers and Tempo: 1630-1800 Beverly Jerold
    Performance Practice Review Volume 17 | Number 1 Article 4 Numbers and Tempo: 1630-1800 Beverly Jerold Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.claremont.edu/ppr Part of the Music Practice Commons Jerold, Beverly (2012) "Numbers and Tempo: 1630-1800," Performance Practice Review: Vol. 17: No. 1, Article 4. DOI: 10.5642/ perfpr.201217.01.04 Available at: http://scholarship.claremont.edu/ppr/vol17/iss1/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at Claremont at Scholarship @ Claremont. It has been accepted for inclusion in Performance Practice Review by an authorized administrator of Scholarship @ Claremont. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Numbers and Tempo: 1630-1800 Beverly Jerold Copyright © 2012 Claremont Graduate University Ever since antiquity, the human species has been drawn to numbers. In music, for example, numbers seem to be tangible when compared to the language in early musical texts, which may have a different meaning for us than it did for them. But numbers, too, may be misleading. For measuring time, we have electronic metronomes and scientific instruments of great precision, but in the time frame 1630-1800 a few scientists had pendulums, while the wealthy owned watches and clocks of varying accuracy. Their standards were not our standards, for they lacked the advantages of our technology. How could they have achieved the extremely rapid tempos that many today have attributed to them? Before discussing the numbers in sources thought to support these tempos, let us consider three factors related to technology: 1) The incalculable value of the unconscious training in every aspect of music that we gain from recordings.
    [Show full text]
  • Review of Musical Rhythm Symbols and Counting Rhythm Symbols Tell Us How Long a Note Will Be Held
    Review of Musical Rhythm Symbols and Counting Rhythm symbols tell us how long a note will be held. Rhythm is measured in beats. This is our unit of measurement in music for rhythm. Some rhythms have a value that is greater than one beat. Here are some examples: Whole Note u The Whole Note is worth four beats of sound. It contains the counts 1, 2, 3, 4. 1 2 3 4 Half Note u The Half Note is worth two beats of sound. It contains the counts 1, 2. 1 2 Dotted Rhythms u The Dotted Half Note is equal to a half note note tied to a quarter note. It has the value of three beats. 3 2 1 u The Dotted Quarter Note is equal to a quarter note tied to an eighth note. It has the value of 1 ½ beats. 1 ½ 1 ½ Rhythms worth one beat: Quarter Note u The Quarter Note is worth one beat. u It has one sound on the beat. u It will have a number as its count. (1, 2, 3 or 4) 1 2 3 4 Rhythms worth one beat: Eighth Notes u Two Eighth Notes are worth one beat. u It has two sounds on the beat. u First note has the # on it. u Second note has + on it 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + Rhythms worth one beat: Sixteenth Notes u Four Sixteenth notes are worth one beat. u It has four sounds on the beat. u First note has the # on it. u Second note has “e” on it.
    [Show full text]
  • Musical Symbols Range: 1D100–1D1FF
    Musical Symbols Range: 1D100–1D1FF This file contains an excerpt from the character code tables and list of character names for The Unicode Standard, Version 14.0 This file may be changed at any time without notice to reflect errata or other updates to the Unicode Standard. See https://www.unicode.org/errata/ for an up-to-date list of errata. See https://www.unicode.org/charts/ for access to a complete list of the latest character code charts. See https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/Unicode-14.0/ for charts showing only the characters added in Unicode 14.0. See https://www.unicode.org/Public/14.0.0/charts/ for a complete archived file of character code charts for Unicode 14.0. Disclaimer These charts are provided as the online reference to the character contents of the Unicode Standard, Version 14.0 but do not provide all the information needed to fully support individual scripts using the Unicode Standard. For a complete understanding of the use of the characters contained in this file, please consult the appropriate sections of The Unicode Standard, Version 14.0, online at https://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode14.0.0/, as well as Unicode Standard Annexes #9, #11, #14, #15, #24, #29, #31, #34, #38, #41, #42, #44, #45, and #50, the other Unicode Technical Reports and Standards, and the Unicode Character Database, which are available online. See https://www.unicode.org/ucd/ and https://www.unicode.org/reports/ A thorough understanding of the information contained in these additional sources is required for a successful implementation.
    [Show full text]
  • Rhythmic Values (Learnmusictheory.Net)
    14 LearnMusicTheory.net High-Yield Music Theory, Vol. 1: Music Theory Fundamentals Section 1.4 R H Y T H M I C V ALUES Duration Duration is how long a note lasts. A rhythmic value is a symbol indicating Rhythmic value relative duration (see table below). A rhythm is a series of rhythmic values. Rhythm Rhythmic values Rhythmic values indicate relative duration, not absolute duration. Each rhythmic value is half the duration of the next longer value. Shorter note values (64th notes, etc.) are also possible. breve W whole whole = half of a breve note w w etc. half half = half of a whole note ˙ ˙ quarter = half of a half note OR quarter = one quarter of a whole quarter note œ 8th = half of œ œ œ a quarter OR 8th = 8th of a whole note eighth note œ œ etc. œ œ œ œ œ œ 16th note œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ 32nd note œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ Notehead The oval part of the note is called the notehead. Notes shorter than whole Stems notes have a stem attached to the notehead. Notes shorter than quarters Flags have flags or beams, depending on the rhythmic context (see 1.10 Beams Summary of Notation Guidelines). Eighth notes have one flag (or beam), sixteenth notes have two flags (or two beams), and so on.
    [Show full text]
  • HORIZONTAL STRUCTURE One Way in Which Most Styles of Music Strive
    CHAPTER XI HORIZONTAL STRUCTURE One way in which most styles of music strive to satisfy the listener is to present repeating patterns which are easily recognized by the listener. Certainly this represents a connection between music and mathematics, although the mathematics involved here is not deep for the mostpart. Duration of Notes Time durations in music are often measured in beats, which are the temporal units by which music is notated. Frequently one beat represents the time interval by which one is prone to “count off” the passing of time while the music is performed, although this is not always the case. The most basic notational unit, of course, is the note, and the duration of the note is indicated by such things as note stems, dots, and tuplet designations. The durational names of notes in Western music is based on the whole note, which has a duration in beats (often four) dictated by the time signature (discussed below). Notes whose duration has proportion 1/2n,n∈ Z+ with the duration of the whole note are named according to that proportion. Thus, if the whole note has a certain duration in beats, then the half note has half that duration, the quarternotehas one fourth that duration, etc. In the situation where a whole note gets four beats, then a half note gets two beats and the sixty-fourth note represents one eighth of a beat. We will use the term durational note to mean a note distinguished by its duration, such as half note, quarter note, independent of its associated pitch.
    [Show full text]
  • Music Theory 4 Rhythm Counting Second Chances Music Program
    Music Theory 4 Rhythm Counting Second Chances Music Program Counting Eighth Note Triplets and Rests What is a Triplet? The term triplet refers to a series of three notes that are played in the space of two notes of the same value. For example, an eighth note triplet occurs when a musician is expected to play three eighth notes in the same amount of time as they would normally play two eighth notes. When written on the staff, the eighth note triplet will be notated by beaming three eighth notes together and placing a '3' above or below the middle note. The placement of the number 3 is dictated by the note’s stem direction. On occasion, composers and publishers will include a bracket along with the number ‘3’ in order to indicate a triplet rhythm. Although the use of these brackets may seem a bit unnecessary in the musical example above where there is a consistent series of eighth notes, the brackets can be very helpful when the triplet rhythms include both notes and rests. A triplet is the simplest incarnation of a tuplet. A tuplet occurs when a given number of notes of one type are spread equally over the same duration of a different number of notes of that same type. In this case, three eighth notes spread evenly over the space of two eighth notes. There are many other kinds of tuplets besides triplets, some of which are quite complex, but these are less common. Counting Eighth Note Triplets Just as there are many ways of counting rhythms in music, there are also multiple ways of counting eighth note triplets.
    [Show full text]