RHYTHM- Very closely tied to pulse, a regular repeated pattern of sounds that move music forward.

SYNCOPATION- This occurs when notes land in places that are not directly on the the down beat, or other strong beats.

NOTE- A symbol used to signify the duration and pitch of a tone.

DOTTED NOTE- Lasts for the duration of the note plus half the duration of the that note.

TIE- This symbol suggest that the note holds it's duration in addition to the duration of the note it is tied to. For example, a dotted quarter note tied to an eighth note would last for the duration of a half note.

METER- Grouping of beats into equal parts,based on stressed and unstressed beats.

MEASURE- One repetition of a pattern of stressed and unstressed beats.

METER SIGNATURE- A number representing the grouping of beats that comprise the meter.

DUPLE METER- A meter with one stressed beat and one unstressed beat.

TRIPLE METER- A meter with one stressed beat and two unstressed beats.

SIMPLE METER- When the pulses can be divided into 2's.

COMPOUND METER- When the pulses can be divided into 3's.

-In m.1 (measure 1), we see the 1/8 note on the upbeat (+) between beats 2 and 3.
It then TIES to the following 1/2 note to fill the measure on beats 3 and 4. This 1/2 note holds even longer as it ties to that first 1/2 note of m.2.

-In m.2, we first have the 1/2 note , tied over from the previous measure. This 1/2 note occupies beats 1 and 2 of this measure of common time (4/4). In order to fit 3 notes in the space remaining (beats 3 and 4), we must use the QUARTER NOTE TRIPLET. We will make each of these three 1/4 notes slightly shorter and place them evenly over the two remaining beats.

-Measure 1 begins with 4 consecutive 1/8 notes occupying beats 1 and 2, in common time. No problem. Then we have a 1/4 rest on beat 3. The melody picks back up on beat 4 (a weak beat) and continues on to beat 1 of the following measure. The introduction of a melodic theme on a weak beat presents a bit of rhythmic chaos. This effect is also used in m.2, where the melody resumes on the UPBEAT of a weak beat (beat 2) and ties over to a strong beat. Thusly, a new note is not played on the strong beat. This makes an otherwise common time and beat sound kind of uncommon.


-Measure 4 begins with an 1/8 rest. The following dotted quarter note occurs on the upbeat of 1. This begins a sequence of notes that all occur on the upbeat.

-In m.1, we see an 1/8 rest on the DOWN BEAT of beat 1. The melody begins on the upbeat of beat 1.

-In m.2, we see the Dm chord on the upbeat of the beat 4.