All music that has ever been written is some combination of sound and time. You can’t have music without something — a singer, a violin, a stick — producing sound, and these sounds have to be made over a period of time.
The main aspect of music that deals with time is rhythm. It is, maybe behind melody, the most used word when talking about music. Every single piece of music you hear has a rhythm to it.
In this article, we’ll give you a complete guide to rhythm — what it is, how it can be defined, and how it’s used in music.
Definition of Rhythm in Music
Rhythm in music refers to the pattern of sounds and silences that occur over time. It is the element of music that creates a sense of movement and forward momentum — often described as the “heartbeat” or “pulse” of a piece of music.
Rhythm isn’t just about music — you’ll find it in all aspects of life. The Earth travels around the sun with a rhythm of about 365 days, it rotates with a rhythm of 1 day. Your heart beats at a specific rhythm, and a watch ticks at exactly 60 beats per minute.
In music, rhythm refers to the pattern of regularly recurring beats, including both accented and unaccented beats, and how they are grouped together.
What are Beats and Pulse?
A beat is the basic unit of time in music. When repeated in a regular pattern, it creates a pulse. In 4/4 time, there are four beats per measure — if you tap your foot along to a piece of music in 4/4, you are following along with the pulse.
Accented and Unaccented Beats
A pulse is a regularly repeating pattern of beats — but it only deals with beats that are accented. The pulse (what you tap along with your foot) is made up of accented, strong beats. However, the rhythm of a song or melody can be on both strong and weak beats.
In 4/4 time, beats 1 and 3 are accented (strong), while beats 2 and 4 are unaccented (weak). In reggae music, the guitar is characteristically played on the unaccented 2nd and 4th beats.
Meter and Measures
To make rhythm easier to read and follow, we group beats into measures (called bars in the UK). A measure is a grouping of a specific number of beats, separated by bar lines on the staff.
Summing Up
Rhythm is to time what melody and harmony is to pitch. It divides the abstract concept of time into discrete, measurable segments. Often the least-discussed major aspect of music, it is nonetheless just as important as melody or harmony.