533m: Meter and tempo

533m: Meter and tempo

Description

“The pattern of fixed temporal units, called beats, by which the timespan of a piece of music or a section thereof is measured” (Apel 1972:523). Indicated by time signatures (for example, 2/2, 4/4, 6/8).

Isometer	The use of a repeated pulse without its organization into groups.
Mixed meter	The sequential use of two or more different meters in one piece.
Polymeter	The simultaneous sounding of two or more different meters.
Nonmetric	No sense of underlying pulse in the music.
Chant	“General term for liturgical music similar to plainsong, that is, monophonic and in free rhythm” (Apel 1972:147) [from “chanting”] “The psalm tones of the Latin (Gregorian) rite are monophonic and in free rhythm. The Anglican chants are harmonized and the cadence is in strict meter” (Apel 1972:147).
Tempo	The speed of pulses or beats, usually indicated in beats per minute (MM).

Context for this page:

Ocm module: Meter and tempo
In ocm module:
In ocm module: Music
In modular book: Expanded ethnomusicology categories for the Outline of Cultural Materials, by Kenneth R. Hollingsworth
In bookshelf: Anthropology

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 3.5, published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 1999. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 11 September 1998