Jonathan Dockney

In order to understand what rhythm is, we need to cover a few concepts first. This section covers the numerical aspect of music. 

Time values

If you listen to a piece of music, you will notice that some notes last longer than others. Another way of thinking about this is that their time values are different.

In Western music, we have different systems for naming time values. I will use British names with their American equivalents in parentheses. The time values are the same; only the names are different. You may use either British or American names in your ABRSM exam.

The image 1 shows the five time values that you need to know for grade 1: how we write them and how we name them. 

Image 2 shows that each note (except for the semibreve) lasts half as long as the note above it. It is important to recognize this relationship. For example:

• A minim last for half as long as a semibreve and a crotchet lasts for half a minim etc.
• This also means that a crotchet lasts for a quarter of a semibreve and likewise a quaver lasts for an eighth of a semibreve etc.

Pulse

Pick a piece of music and listen to it – pop songs are probably best this exercise. Do you find that your foot or finger starts tapping? Or your head starts nodding? What you are moving to is what we call the pulse.

The pulse can be fast or slow, but usually remains steady throughout the piece of music. 

Think of the pulse as like a heartbeat or the continuous ticking of a clock. There's nothing more to it. It is the underlying steady heartbeat of the music. 

Beats

Once you have the pulse, you may find yourself counting to it. Have you ever heard dancers counting 1, 2, 3 to a waltz? Or what about musicians counting 1, 2, 3, 4 before they start playing? This is the beat, which is how we start to organize the pulse. 

The beat tells us which pulses are strong and which are weak. It establishes a pattern of strong and weak beats. 

So go back to the waltz example: have you noticed that when we count 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, e etc., we make the first beat a little more emphasized than the others? You can say that it is the strong beat. Now imagine making all the beats in a waltz strong. It doesn't have the same effect anymore, right? 

Beats give music structure and help musicians play together in time.

Rhythm

Rhythm is the pattern created by playing notes that last for different durations. Take the song you listened to earlier and tap it out of a hard suface. What you are tapping is the rhythm. Some of you may even tap the rhythm with you hand and the beat with your feet. Be sure you are clear though about the differences between beat and rhythm!