ABSTRACT
Sound is produced by the rapid oscillations of an elastic body. The sound thus produced is propagated in waves. If the vibrations of the air are regular, the sounds are musical sounds; if the vibrations are irregular, they are noise sounds. On the frequency or number of vibrations per second depends the height or pitch of a sound. Musical sounds are classified according to: sonority; intensity or loudness; tamber or colour; pitch or height; compass or register; length; tempo; and stress or accent. In ordinary speech and in prose there is no measurement or even distribution of rhythmical units, and the distribution of accent depends on tempo and emphasis. Rhythmical accent is, therefore, bound to be different from natural accent. Rhythm is—as the meaning of the Greek word indicates—the 'flow' of language. Technically this flow may be either upwards or downwards.
