ABSTRACT

One of the many features distinguishing post-tonal music from that of the tonal era is its preoccupation with rhythm. Though rhythm is an important element of tonal music, perhaps in ways that are still not completely understood, the surface rhythm of most tonal pieces is relatively straightforward and easy to comprehend, so much so that analyses of such pieces often make little or no mention of the rhythmic dimension. In contrast, in many post-tonal compositions the focus is on rhythm at least as much as on pitch, and the surface rhythms are frequently varied and complex. This chapter will explore some of the ways in which these varieties and complexities are achieved, but rst it will be useful to review some terminology:

Rhythm —The organization of the time element in music. Beat —The basic pulse. Simple beat —Division of the beat into two equal parts. Compound beat —Division of the beat into three equal parts. Meter —The grouping of beats into larger units. Duple meter —The grouping of beats into twos. Triple meter —The grouping of beats into threes. Quadruple meter —The grouping of beats into fours. Measure —One full unit of the meter. Syncopation —An accent where one is not expected, or the lack of an accent where

one would be expected.