Rhythm

From Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia written in simple English for easy reading.

Rhythm is a word that refers to the length of each note in a piece of music.

If you take a song that you know and say the words in time you can also clap the words as you say it. You will be clapping the rhythm.

“Rhythm” must not be confused with “beat” or “pulse”. The beat of the music is a regular pulse (like the regular pulse of someone’s heartbeat). Music may feel as if it is going 1-2-1-2 or 1-2-3-1-2-3 or 1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4. When we write the music down we put each group in bars (or “measures”). The first beat of the bar feels stronger than the others.

A conductor will beat time. The rhythm will fit in to this regular beat.

All musicians have to have a good sense of rhythm. To play or sing rhythmically they must keep a steady beat in their head (if playing alone), listen to the others players (if playing in groups) or watch the conductor (if there is one).

People who are playing on their own can practise with a metronome to help them to play to a steady beat. However, musicians also use rubato (rhythmic freedom), especially when playing music of a romantic nature. One has to learn to let the music “breathe” in the right way. This is not the same as playing unrhythmically (badly). It is something one learns with experience.

Sometimes the word rhythm is used in a more general sense to mean the general flow of the music, or of life in general ("the rhythm of life").