Recognition of complex metrical/rhythmical devices in scores: revision

Question 2 of the second year exam assesses your knowledge and understanding of metre and rhythm by looking at an orchestral score.  There are basic rules which you should always follow when looking at a score.  If you do this, this question is not that difficult!

Rule No 1: Check tempo
Always check for metronome markings. At the beginning of a piece of music, these are above the 1st stave on the left, and will show a note-value, an equals sign (=) and a number. The number shows the number of beats per minute (b.p.m).

Reason: A time signature is all but irrelevant without an indication of tempo.  You cannot make informed decisions about how music "goes" without knowing the tempo. For example, a 6/8 where the dotted crotchet (dotted 1/4 note) pulse is marked at 60 is likely to be counted in 3 (effectively making the compound metre simple).  The same time signature at 120 bpm would be counted as two - you simply wouldn't have the time (or verbal agility) to count the subdivisions.
Rule No 2: Check system breaks
Check for SYSTEM SEPARATORS. These are two forward slashes in thick black ink (//), on the left hand side of the page which tell you that the page is divided into two systems - i.e. when you get to the end of the line, instead of carrying on to the next page, you move your eye down to the system below the // mark. 
Reason: You will miss out whole sections of the score if you don't notice that a page contains two or three systems rather than just one!
Rule No 3: Check for time signature
Time signatures are only usually given in the first bar of a piece of music, unless of course the time signature changes (mixed or irregular metre), in which case it's given every time there is a change. 

To work out the time signature, you need to:

  • add up the values of the notes in the bar
  • examine how those values are arranged


    • Reason: Time signatures imply a "metrical accent" on the notes following the barline.  If you've got a counting scheme to create, take that into account. If you don't, you'll get divergent counts like this.

    Counts: 1 2 3 4 2 2 3 4 3 2 3 4 4 2 3 4 5 2 3 4 6 2 3 4 7
    Music:  1 2 3 2 2 3 2 3 4 2 3 5 2 3 6 2 3 7 2 3 8 2 3 9 2

    NB: Actually, the rhythmic pattern created by this scheme is quite interesting (squint and look at the diagram and see the pattern made by the bold figures). It is just the sort of thing that Stravinsky or Balanchine might have created.  It is an evolving, changing, polyrhythm with moments of coincidence ( i.e 3 in counts with 4 in music, and 6:8).  Some South American music does this.

Rule No 4: Check for polymetre 
If time signature is marked, then check that there is only one.  This means checking for system braces - i.e. the thick angled brackets that join a set of staves into a system down the left hand side of the staves. The II sign in Rule No 2. is actually superfluous, because the system braces tell you which instruments are playing together, but it's there to make reading easier. 
Reason: If you see two time signatures in different staves within the same system, you have an example of polymetre - where the music is written (or played) in two metres at the same time. If you see two time signatures, but there is a system divider or a break in the system braces, then this is not polymetre - it's mixed or irregular metre. 


Rule No 5. 
Check for beaming and/or phrase marks - i.e. the horizontal beams that join notes together/the curved lines that arch over groups of notes. 

  1. This is commonly a device which shows metre (or rhythm) that is independent of the time signature.  Schumann and Chopin did it back way back in the 19th century, because they enjoyed what's known as "metrical dissonance" - i.e. subverting/challenging the prevailing metre implied by the time signature. 

    2.  
  2. In additive metre, it is the beaming of notes which tells you the grouping (i.e. whether, in a 5/8 it's 3+2 or 2+3. 

    3.  
  3. In music with no time signature, it is beaming or phrasing which indicates metrical organization.  We don't actually need time signatures and barlines, they just make life easier. Balanchine's counts for Symphony in Three Movements are "virtual" barlines which mark off (chunk, if you enjoyed chunking in Psychology) musical events in workable sections. 

    4.  

     
     
     
     
     

    In some modern music, composers choose to stick to a generally regular metrical scheme like 4/4 but group notes assymetrically - i.e. if there are 8 eight-notes in a bar of 4/4, we generally expect them to be divided 2+2+2+2, but they could be divided 2+3+3 or 3+2+3. 

    A rumba (which is polyrhythmic) has a basic 4/4 pulse in the background, but the surface rhythm is 3+3+2, something like this:

    123456781234567812345678
    1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 

    Try drumming the top rhythm with both hands

    LRL RLR LR     LRL RLR LR 

    You will see an interesting paradox.  You have retained a duple (symmetrical) metre inasmuch as you are going from left to right equally - but the accent (which defines a metrical grouping) makes for asymmetrical rhythm. 


 
 
 
 
 
 
     
Polymetre
Polymetre is said to exist when two metrical organisations are present in the same score. 
Resources
A basic revision resource is W.W. Norton's "web book" of The Enjoyment of Music. On this site there are excellent definitions of most of the concepts in this course, with audio examples.  If you're worried about notation, the Basic Elements of Music handbook from Stetson is useful.

The Middle Eastern Rhythms FAQ is a remarkable page, which shows you how middle eastern additive metres are constructed.  Search on the page (by pressing Ctrl F) for "Balkans", and read about rhythms like Sedi Donka (Time signature: 25/16)

Break Sedi Donka down like this: two 7s=3+2+2 (like the Greek Kalamantiano) and then an 11 or "5 with a long 3".
There are different versions of the page, some with graphics others just text.  It's not immediately obvious that you can actually create rhythms and play them back with the rhythm generator - all you have to do is type in letters which symbolise different sounds, and then press play.  Hours of fun.