Metre ( music ) - wikipedia Metre ( music ) Musical and lyric metre See also : Metre ( hymn ) and Metre ( poetry ) In music, metre ( Am. meter ) refers to the regularly recurring patterns and accents such as measures and beats. Unlike rhythm, metric onsets are not necessarily sounded, but are nevertheless expected by the listener. A variety of systems exist throughout the world for organising and playing metrical music, such as the Indian system of tala and similar systems in Arabian and African music. Western music inherited the concept of metre from poetry ( Scholes 1977 ; Latham 2002b ) where it denotes : the number of lines in a verse ; the number of syllables in each line ; and the arrangement of those syllables as long or short, accented or unaccented ( Scholes 1977 ; Latham 2002b ). The first coherent system of rhythmic notation in modern Western music was based on rhythmic modes derived from the basic types of metrical unit in the quantitative meter of classical ancient Greek and Latin poetry ( Hoppin 1978, 221 ). Later music for dances such as the pavane and galliard consisted of musical phrases to accompany a fixed sequence of basic steps with a defined tempo and time signature. The English word `` measure '', originally an exact or just amount of time, came to denote either a poetic rhythm, a bar of music, or else an entire melodic verse or dance ( Merriam - Webster 2015 ) involving sequences of notes, words, or movements that may last four, eight or sixteen bars. Contents 1 Metric structure 2 Frequently encountered types of metre 2.1 Metres classified by the number of beats per measure 2.1. 1 Duple metre 2.1. 2 Triple metre 2.2 Metres classified by the subdivisions of a beat 2.2. 1 Simple metre 2.2. 2 Compound metre 3 Metre in song 4 Metre in dance music 5 Metre in classical music 5.1 Changing metre 6 Hypermetre 7 Polymetre 8 Examples 8.1 Polymetres -- video 8.2 Various metres -- sound 8.3 Various metres -- video 9 See also 10 Sources 11 External links Metric structure The term metre is not very precisely defined ( Scholes 1977 ). MacPherson ( 1930, 3 ) preferred to speak of `` time '' and `` rhythmic shape '', Imogen Holst ( 1963, 17 ) of `` measured rhythm ''. However, London has written a book about musical metre, which `` involves our initial perception as well as subsequent anticipation of a series of beats that we abstract from the rhythm surface of the music as it unfolds in time '' ( London 2004, 4 ). This `` perception '' and `` abstraction '' of rhythmic measure is the foundation of human instinctive musical participation, as when we divide a series of identical clock - ticks into `` tick -- tock -- tick -- tock '' ( Scholes 1977 ). `` Rhythms of recurrence '' arise from the interaction of two levels of motion, the faster providing the pulse and the slower organizing the beats into repetitive groups ( Yeston 1976, 50 -- 52 ). `` Once a metric hierarchy has been established, we, as listeners, will maintain that organization as long as minimal evidence is present '' ( Lester 1986, 77 ). Metric levels : beat level shown in middle with division levels above and multiple levels below. `` Meter may be defined as a regular, recurring pattern of strong and weak beats. This recurring pattern of durations is identified at the beginning of a composition by a meter signature ( time signature )... Although meter is generally indicated by time signatures, it is important to realize that meter is not simply a matter of notation '' ( Benward and Saker 2003, 9 ). A definition of musical metre requires the possibility of identifying a repeating pattern of accented pulses -- a `` pulse - group '' -- which corresponds to the foot in poetry. Frequently a pulse - group can be identified by taking the accented beat as the first pulse in the group and counting the pulses until the next accent ( MacPherson 1930, 5 ; Scholes 1977 ). Frequently metres can be broken down into a pattern of duples and triples ( MacPherson 1930, 5 ; Scholes 1977 ). The level of musical organisation implied by musical metre includes the most elementary levels of musical form ( MacPherson 1930, 3 ). Metrical rhythm, measured rhythm, and free rhythm are general classes of rhythm and may be distinguished in all aspects of temporality ( Cooper 1973, 30 ). Metrical rhythm, by far the most common class in Western music, is where each time value is a multiple or fraction of a fixed unit ( beat, see paragraph below ), and normal accents reoccur regularly, providing systematic grouping ( measures, divisive rhythm ). Measured rhythm is where each time value is a multiple or fraction of a specified time unit but there are not regularly recurring accents ( additive rhythm ). Free rhythm is where there is neither ( Cooper 1973, 30 ). Some music, including chant, has freer rhythm, like the rhythm of prose compared to that of verse ( Scholes 1977 ). Some music, such as some graphically scored works since the 1950s and non-European music such as Honkyoku repertoire for shakuhachi, may be considered ametric ( Karpinski 2000, 19 ). Senza misura is an Italian musical term for `` without metre '', meaning to play without a beat, using time to measure how long it will take to play the bar ( Forney and Machlis 2007, ). Metric structure includes metre, tempo, and all rhythmic aspects that produce temporal regularity or structure, against which the foreground details or durational patterns of any piece of music are projected ( Wittlich 1975, chapt. 3 ). Metric levels may be distinguished : the beat level is the metric level at which pulses are heard as the basic time unit of the piece. Faster levels are division levels, and slower levels are multiple levels ( Wittlich 1975, chapt. 3 ). A rhythmic unit is a durational pattern which occupies a period of time equivalent to a pulse or pulses on an underlying metric level. Frequently encountered types of metre Metres classified by the number of beats per measure Duple metre Main article : Duple and quadruple metre In duple metre, each measure is divided into two beats, or a multiple thereof ( quadruple metre ). For example, in the time signature 2 4, each measure contains two ( 2 ) quarter - note ( 4 ) beats, and with the time signature 6 8, each measure contains two dotted - quarter - note beats. Corresponding quadruple metres are 4 4, with 2 × 2 = 4 quarter - note beats per measure, and 12 8, with 2 × 2 = 4 dotted - quarter - note beats per measure. Triple metre Main article : Triple metre Triple metre is a metre in which each measure is divided into three beats, or a multiple thereof. For example, in the time signature 3 4, each measure contains three ( 3 ) quarter - note ( 4 ) beats, and with a time signature of 9 8, each measure contains three dotted - quarter beats. Metres classified by the subdivisions of a beat Simple metre and compound metre are distinguished by the way the beats are subdivided. Simple metre Simple triple drum pattern : divides each of three beats into two Play ( help info ) Simple metre or simple time is a metre in which each beat of the measure divides naturally into two ( as opposed to three ) equal parts. The top number in the time signature will be 2, 3, 4, 5, etc... Simple quadruple drum pattern : divides each of four beats into two Play ( help info ) For example, in the time signature 3 4, each measure contains three crotchet ( quarter note ) beats, and each of those beats divides into two quavers ( eighth notes ), making it a simple metre. More specifically, it is simple triple because there are three beats in each measure ; simple duple ( two beats ) or simple quadruple ( four ) are also common metres. Compound metre Compound triple drum pattern : divides each of three beats into three Play ( help info ) Compound metre, or compound time ( chiefly British variation ), is a metre in which each beat of the measure divides naturally into three equal parts. That is, each beat contains a triple pulse ( Latham 2002a ). The top number in the time signature will be 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 24, etc... Compound duple drum pattern : divides each of two beats into three Play ( help info ) Compound metres are written with a time signature that shows the number of divisions of beats in each measure as opposed to the number of beats. For example, compound duple ( two beats, each divided into three ) is written as a time signature with a numerator of six, for example, 6 8. Contrast this with the time signature 3 4 which also assigns six quavers to each measure, but by convention connotes a simple triple time : 3 crotchet beats. Examples of compound metre : 6 8 ( compound duple metre ) has two beats divided into three equal parts, i.e., a primary accent on the first quaver, and a subordinate accent on the fourth quaver. 9 8 ( compound triple metre ) has three beats divided into three parts, i.e., a primary accent on the first quaver, and subordinate accents on the fourth and seventh quavers. 12 8 ( compound quadruple metre ) has four beats divided into three equal parts, i.e., a primary accent on the first quaver, a secondary accent on the seventh quaver, and subordinate accents on the fourth and tenth quavers. Although 3 4 and 6 8 are not to be confused, they use measures of the same length, so it is easy to `` slip '' between them just by shifting the location of the accents. This interpretational switch has been exploited, for example, by Leonard Bernstein, in the song `` America '' from West Side Story, as can be heard in the prominent motif Play ( help info ) : Some works with compound metre : Jigs are often in 6 8 time, with Irish slip jigs in 9 8 time. Compound metre divided into three parts could theoretically be transcribed into musically equivalent simple metre using triplets. Likewise, simple metre can be shown in compound through duples. In practice, however, this is rarely done because it disrupts conducting patterns when the Tempo changes. When conducting in 6 8, conductors typically provide two beats per measure. Where the tempo is slow, however, all six beats may be performed. Compound time is associated with `` lilting '' and dancelike qualities. Folk dances often use compound time. Many Baroque dances are often in compound time : some gigues, the courante, and sometimes the passepied and the siciliana. Metre in song A German children 's song shows a common fourfold multiplication of rhythmic phrases into a complete verse and melody. Play ( help info ) The concept of metre in music derives in large part from the poetic metre of song and includes not only the basic rhythm of the foot, pulse - group or figure used but also the rhythmic or formal arrangement of such figures into musical phrases ( lines, couplets ) and of such phrases into melodies, passages or sections ( stanzas, verses ) to give what Holst ( 1963, 18 ) calls `` the time pattern of any song '' ( See also : Form of a musical passage ). Traditional and popular songs may draw heavily upon a limited range of metres, leading to interchangeability of melodies. Early hymnals commonly did not include musical notation but simply texts that could be sung to any tune known by the singers that had a matching metre. For example, The Blind Boys of Alabama rendered the hymn `` Amazing Grace '' to the setting of The Animals ' version of the folk song `` The House of the Rising Sun ''. This is possible because the texts share a popular basic four - line ( quatrain ) verse - form called ballad metre or, in hymnals, common metre, the four lines having a syllable - count of 8 -- 6 -- 8 -- 6 ( Hymns Ancient and Modern Revised ), the rhyme - scheme usually following suit : ABAB. There is generally a pause in the melody in a cadence at the end of the shorter lines so that the underlying musical metre is 8 -- 8 -- 8 -- 8 beats, the cadences dividing this musically into two symmetrical `` normal '' phrases of four measures each ( MacPherson 1930, 14 ). In some regional music, for example Balkan music ( like Bulgarian music, and the Macedonian 3 + 2 + 2 + 3 + 2 metre ), a wealth of irregular or compound metres are used. Other terms for this are `` additive metre '' ( London 2001, § I. 8 ) and `` imperfect time '' ( Read 1964, 147 ). Metre in dance music Typical figures of the waltz rhythm ( Scruton 1997 ) Metre is often essential to any style of dance music, such as the waltz or tango, that has instantly recognizable patterns of beats built upon a characteristic tempo and measure. The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing ( 1983 ) defines the tango, for example, as to be danced in 2 4 time at approximately 66 beats per minute. The basic slow step forwards or backwards, lasting for one beat, is called a `` slow '', so that a full `` right -- left '' step is equal to one 2 4 measure. But step - figures such as turns, the corte and walk - ins also require `` quick '' steps of half the duration, each entire figure requiring 3 -- 6 `` slow '' beats. Such figures may then be `` amalgamated '' to create a series of movements that may synchronise to an entire musical section or piece. This can be thought of as an equivalent of prosody ( see also : prosody ( music ) ). Metre in classical music A sequence of steps laid against the typical rhythm of the gavotte. Stylised folk - dances from all over Europe lent their characteristic metres to the Baroque suite. In music of the common practice period ( about 1600 -- 1900 ), there are four different families of time signature in common use : Simple duple -- two or four beats to a bar, each divided by two, the top number being `` 2 '' or `` 4 '' ( 2 4, 2 8, 2 2... 4 4, 4 8, 4 2... ). When there are four beats to a bar, it is alternatively referred to as `` quadruple '' time. Simple triple ( 3 4 ( help info ) ) -- three beats to a bar, each divided by two, the top number being `` 3 '' ( 3 4, 3 8, 3 2... ) Compound duple -- two beats to a bar, each divided by three, the top number being `` 6 '' ( 6 8, 6 16, 6 4... ) Compound triple -- three beats to a bar, each divided by three, the top number being `` 9 '' ( 9 8, 9 16, 9 4 ) Rhythmic analysis of the metric elaboration of one phrase of a gavotte by J.S. Bach. Ebene ( German : level ). If the beat is divided into two the metre is simple, if divided into three it is compound. If each measure is divided into two it is duple and if into three it is triple. Some people also label quadruple, while some consider it as two duples. Any other division is considered additively, as a measure of five beats may be broken into duple + triple ( 12123 ) or triple + duple ( 12312 ) depending on accent. However, in some music, especially at faster tempos, it may be treated as one unit of five. Changing metre In twentieth - century concert music, it became more common to switch metre -- the end of Igor Stravinsky 's The Rite of Spring is an example. A metric modulation is a modulation from one metric unit or metre to another. The use of asymmetrical rhythms also became more common : such metres include quintuple as well as more complex additive metres along the lines of 2 + 2 + 3 time, where each bar has two 2 - beat units and a 3 - beat unit with a stress at the beginning of each unit. Similar metres are used in various folk music as well as some music by Philip Glass. Additive metres may be conceived either as long, irregular metres or as constantly changing short metres. Hypermetre Hypermetre : 4 - beat measure, 4 - measure hypermeasure, and 4 - hypermeasure verses. Hyperbeats in red. Opening of the third movement of Beethoven 's Waldstein sonata. The melodic lines in bars 1 -- 4 and 5 -- 8 are ( almost ) identical, and both form hypermetric spans. The two hyperbeats are the low Cs, in the first and fifth measures of the example. Play ( help info ) Hypermetre is large - scale metre ( as opposed to surface - level metre ) created by hypermeasures, which consist of hyperbeats ( Stein 2005, 329 ). `` Hypermeter is meter, with all its inherent characteristics, at the level where measures act as beats '' ( Neal 2000, 115 ). For example, the four - bar hypermeasure is the prototypical structure for country music, in and against which country songs work ( Neal 2000, 115 ). In some styles, two - and four - bar hypermetres are common. The term was coined, together with `` hypermeasures '', by Edward T. Cone ( 1968 ), who regarded it as applying to a relatively small scale, conceiving of a still larger kind of gestural `` rhythm '' imparting a sense of `` an extended upbeat followed by its downbeat '' ( Berry and Van Solkema 2013, § 5 ( vi ) ). London ( 2012, 25 ) contends that in terms of multiple and simultaneous levels of metrical `` entrainment '' ( evenly spaced temporal events `` that we internalize and come to expect '', p. 9 ), there is no in - principle distinction between metre and hypermetre ; instead, they are the same phenomenon occurring at different levels. Lee ( 1985 ) and Middleton have described musical metre in terms of deep structure, using generative concepts to show how different metres ( 4 4, 3 4, etc. ) generate many different surface rhythms. For example, the first phrase of The Beatles ' `` A Hard Day 's Night '', excluding the syncopation on `` night '', may be generated from its metre of 4 4 ( Middleton 1990, 211 ) : 4 8 8 8 8 It 's been hard day 's night... The syncopation may then be added, moving `` night '' forward one eighth note, and the first phrase is generated ( Play ( help info ) ). Polymetre See also : Polyrhythm With Polymetre, the measure sizes differ, but the beat remains constant. Since the beat is the same, the various metres eventually agree. ( Four measures of 7 4 = seven measures of 4 4 ). An example is the second moment, titled `` Scherzo polimetrico '', of Edmund Rubbra 's Second String Quartet ( 1951 ), in which a constant triplet texture holds together overlapping bars of 9 8, 12 8, and 21 8, and barlines rarely coincide in all four instruments ( Rubbra 1953, 41 ). With Polyrhythm, the number of beats varies within a fixed measure length. For example, in a 4 : 3 polyrhythm, one part plays 4 4 while the other plays 3 4, but the 3 4 beats are stretched so that three beats of 3 4 are played in the same time as four beats of 4 4. More generally, sometimes rhythms are combined in a way that is neither tactus nor measure preserving -- the beat differs and the measure size also differs. See Polytempi. Research into the perception of polymetre shows that listeners often either extract a composite pattern that is fitted to a metric framework, or focus on one rhythmic stream while treating others as `` noise ''. This is consistent with the Gestalt psychology tenet that `` the figure -- ground dichotomy is fundamental to all perception '' ( Boring 1942, 253 ; London 2004, 49 -- 50 ). In the music, the two metres will meet each other after a specific number of beats. For example, a 3 4 metre and 4 4 metre will meet after 12 beats. In `` Toads of the Short Forest '' ( from the album Weasels Ripped My Flesh ), composer Frank Zappa explains : `` At this very moment on stage we have drummer A playing in 7 8, drummer B playing in 3 4, the bass playing in 3 4, the organ playing in 5 8, the tambourine playing in 3 4, and the alto sax blowing his nose '' ( Mothers of Invention 1970 ). `` Touch And Go '', a hit single by The Cars, has polymetric verses, with the drums and bass playing in 5 4, while the guitar, synthesizer, and vocals are in 4 4 ( the choruses are entirely in 4 4 ) ( Cars 1981, 15 ). The Swedish metal band Meshuggah makes frequent use of polymetres, with unconventionally timed rhythm figures cycling over a 4 4 base ( Pieslak 2007 ). Examples Polymetres -- video Play media Beat - preserving polymetre 5 4 with 4 Play media Beat - preserving polymetre 5 4 with 3 Play media Beat - preserving polymetre 3 4 with 4 Play media Beat - preserving polymetre 2 4 with 3 8 Play media Beat - preserving polymetre 4 4 with 5 8 Play media Beat - preserving polymetre 4 4 with 7 8 Play media Measure - preserving polyrhythm 2 : 3 Play media Measure - preserving polyrhythm 4 : 3 Play media Measure - preserving polyrhythm 5 : 4 Various metres -- sound sample of how 1 4 metre ( help info ) sounds at a tempo of 90 bpm. sample of how 2 4 metre ( help info ) sounds at a tempo of 90 bpm. sample of how 3 4 metre ( help info ) sounds at a tempo of 90 bpm. sample of how 4 4 metre ( help info ) sounds at a tempo of 90 bpm. sample of how 5 8 metre ( help info ) sounds at a tempo of 120 bpm. Various metres -- video Play media 6 8 at tempo of 90 bpm Play media 9 8 at tempo of 90 bpm Play media 12 8 at tempo of 90 bpm Play media 4 at a tempo of 60 bpm Play media 4 at a tempo of 60 bpm Play media 4 at a tempo of 60 bpm See also Metre ( hymn ) Metre ( poetry ) Triple metre Duple and quadruple metre Sextuple metre Composite rhythm Counting ( music ) Hymns and hymn tunes Hymn tune List of musical works in unusual time signatures Tala Tuplet Wazn Sources Anon. ( 1999 ). `` Polymeter. '' Baker 's Student Encyclopedia of Music, 3 vols., ed. Laura Kuhn. New York : Schirmer - Thomson Gale ; London : Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0 - 02 - 865315 - 7. Online version 2006 : Archived 27 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Anon. ( 2001 ). `` Polyrhythm ''. Grove Music Online. ( Accessed 4 April 2009 ) Benward, Bruce, and Marilyn Nadine Saker ( 2003 ). Music : In Theory and Practice, Vol. 1, seventh edition. Boston : McGraw - Hill. ISBN 0 - 07 - 294262 - 2. Berry, David Carson, and Sherman Van Solkema ( 2013 ). `` Theory ''. The Grove Dictionary of American Music, second edition, edited by Charles Hiroshi Garrett. New York : Oxford University Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 19 - 531428 - 1. Boring, Edwin G. ( 1942 ). Sensation and Perception in the History of Experimental Psychology. New York : Appleton - Century. Cars, The ( 1981 ). Panorama ( songbook ). New York : Warner Bros. Publications Inc. Cone, Edward T. ( 1968 ). Musical Form and Musical Performance. New York : Norton. ISBN 978 - 0 - 39309767 - 2. Cooper, Paul ( 1973 ). Perspectives in Music Theory : An Historical - Analytical Approach. New York : Dodd, Mead. ISBN 0 - 396 - 06752 - 2. Forney, Kristine, and Joseph Machlis ( 2007 ). The Enjoyment of Music : An Introduction to Perceptive Listening, tenth edition. New York : W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. ISBN 978 - 0 - 393 - 92885 - 3 ( cloth ) ; ISBN 978 - 0 - 393 - 17410 - 6 ( text with DVD ) ; ISBN 978 - 0 - 393 - 92888 - 4 ( pbk. ) ; ISBN 978 - 0 - 393 - 10757 - 9 ( DVD ) Hindemith, Paul ( 1974 ). Elementary Training for Musicians, second edition ( rev. 1949 ). Mainz, London, and New York : Schott. ISBN 0 - 901938 - 16 - 5. Holst, Imogen ( 1963 ). The ABC of Music : A Short Practical Guide to the Basic Essentials of Rudiments, Harmony, and Form '. Benjamin Britten ( foreword ). London & New York : Oxford University Press. ISBN 0 - 19 - 317103 - 1. Honing, Henkjan ( 2002 ). `` Structure and Interpretation of Rhythm and Timing. '' Tijdschrift voor Muziektheorie 7 ( 3 ) : 227 -- 32. ( pdf ) Hoppin, Richard H. 1978. Medieval Music. New York : W.W. Norton & Co. ISBN 0 - 393 - 09090 - 6. The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing ( 1983 ). Ballroom Dancing. Hodder and Stoughton. Karpinski, Gary S. ( 2000 ). Aural Skills Acquisition : The Development of Listening, Reading, and Performing Skills in College - Level Musicians. ISBN 0 - 19 - 511785 - 9. Krebs, Harald ( 2005 ). `` Hypermeter and Hypermetric Irregularity in the Songs of Josephine Lang. ''. In Deborah Stein ( ed. ). Engaging Music : Essays in Music Analysis. New York : Oxford University Press. ISBN 0 - 19 - 517010 - 5. CS1 maint : Extra text : editors list ( link ) Larson, Steve ( 2006 ). `` Rhythmic Displacement in the Music of Bill Evans ''. In Structure and Meaning in Tonal Music : Festschrift in Honor of Carl Schachter, edited by L. Poundie Burstein and David Gagné, 103 -- 22. Harmonologia Series, no. 12. Hillsdale, NY : Pendragon Press. ISBN 1 - 57647 - 112 - 8. Latham, Alison ( 2002a ). `` Compound Time ( Compound Metre ) ''. The Oxford Companion to Music. edited by Alison Latham. Oxford and New York : Oxford University Press. ISBN 0 - 19 - 866212 - 2. Latham, Alison ( 2002b ). `` Metre ''. The Oxford Companion to Music. edited by Alison Latham. Oxford and New York : Oxford University Press. ISBN 0 - 19 - 866212 - 2. Lee, C.S. ( 1985 ). `` The Rhythmic Interpretation of Simple Musical Sequences : Towards a Perceptual Model ''. In Peter Howell ; Ian Cross ; Robert West. Musical Structure and Cognition. London : Academic Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 12357170 - 0. Lester, Joel ( 1986 ). The Rhythms of Tonal Music. Carbondale : Southern Illinois University Press. ISBN 0 - 8093 - 1282 - 4. London, Justin ( 2001 ). `` Rhythm ''. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London : Macmillan Publishers. London, Justin ( 2004 ). Hearing in Time : Psychological Aspects of Musical Meter ( first ed. ). Oxford : Oxford University Press. ISBN 0 - 19 - 516081 - 9. London, Justin ( 2012 ). Hearing in Time : Psychological Aspects of Musical Meter ( second ed. ). Oxford : Oxford University Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 19 - 974437 - 4. MacPherson, Stewart ( 1930 ). Form in Music. London : Joseph Williams Ltd. Merriam - Webster ( 2015 ). `` Measure ''. Dictionary. New York. Middleton, Richard ( 1990 ). Studying Popular Music. Milton Keynes : Open University Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 33515276 - 6. Mothers of Invention, The ( 1970 ), Weasels Ripped My Flesh ( LP ), Bizarre Records / Reprise Records, MS 2028 at Discogs ( list of releases ) Neal, Jocelyn ( 2000 ). `` Songwriter 's Signature, Artist 's Imprint : The Metric Structure of a Country Song ''. In Wolfe, Charles K. ; Akenson, James E. Country Music Annual 2000. Lexington, KY : University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0 - 8131 - 0989 - 2. Pieslak, Jonathan ( 2007 ). `` Re-casting Metal : Rhythm and Meter in the Music of Meshuggah ''. Music Theory Spectrum. 29 ( 2 ) : 219 -- 45. Read, Gardner ( 1964 ). Music Notation : A Manual of Modern Practice. Boston : Allyn and Bacon. Rubbra, Edmund ( 1953 ). `` String Quartet No. 2 in E flat, Op. 73 : An Analytical Note by the Composer. '' The Music Review 14 : 36 -- 44. Scholes, Percy ( 1977 ). `` Metre '' and `` Rhythm ''. The Oxford Companion to Music. 6th corrected reprint of the 10th ed. ( 1970 ), revised and reset, edited by John Owen Ward. London and New York : Oxford University Press. ISBN 0 - 19 - 311306 - 6. Scruton, Roger ( 1997 ). The Aesthetics of Music, p. 25ex2. 6. Oxford : Clarendon Press. ISBN 0 - 19 - 816638 - 9. Waters, Keith ( 1996 ). `` Blurring the Barline : Metric Displacement in the Piano Solos of Herbie Hancock ''. Annual Review of Jazz Studies 8 : 19 -- 37. Wittlich, Gary E. ( ed. ) ( 1975 ). Aspects of Twentieth - century Music. Englewood Cliffs, N.J. : Prentice - Hall. ISBN 0 - 13 - 049346 - 5. CS1 maint : Extra text : authors list ( link ) Yeston, Maury ( 1976 ). The Stratification of Musical Rhythm. New Haven : Yale University Press. ISBN 0 - 300 - 01884 - 3. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rhythm and meter. www.oddtimeobsessed.com website and Internet radio dedicated to odd meters in music. ( odd time signatures ) Video samples of various meters including polyrhythms, and mixed meters with Bounce Metronome Pro 's `` Gravity Bounce Conductor '' Catherine Schmidt - Jones. `` Meter in Music ''. Retrieved 2008 - 11 - 10. Rhythm and meter Additive and divisive Bar Beat Canter rhythm Colotomy Composite rhythm Counting Count off Cross-beat Duration Note value Gatra Groove Half - time Harmonic rhythm Hemiola Homorhythm Iqa ' Isorhythm Metric modulation Non-retrogradable rhythm Notes inégales Note values Pickup Polyrhythm Prosody Pulse Rhythmic gesture Rhythmic mode Rhythmic unit Stop - time Swing Syncopation Tala Tempo Time point Time scale Time signature Tuplet Musical notation Staff 8 15 Abbreviation Bar / barline / measure Clef Da capo Dal segno Key signature Ledger line Mode Ossia Scale Rehearsal letter Repeat sign Tempo Time signature Transposition Transposing instrument Musical notes Accidental ( flat natural sharp ) Cue note Dotted note Grace note Note value ( beam notehead stem ) Pitch Rest Tacet Tuplet Tremolo Interval Helmholtz pitch notation Letter notation Scientific pitch notation Articulation Accent Sforzando ( musical direction ) Caesura Damping Dynamics Fermata Fingering Legato Marcato Ornament ( appoggiatura glissando grace note mordent slide trill ) Portato Slur Staccato Tenuto Tie Tonguing Sheet music History of music publishing Music engraving Popular - music publisher Sheet - music publisher Scorewriter Alternative Braille music Chord chart Fake book Figured bass Graphic notation Lead sheet Eye music Nashville number system Numbered musical notation Klavarskribo Tablature ( `` Tab '' ) Parsons Percussion notation Simplified Non-Western and ancient Chinese Kepatihan Kunkunshi Neume Swaralipi Shakuhachi Znamenny Related Mensural notation Music stand Sight - reading Sight singing Transcription List of musical symbols Category : Musical notation Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Metre_(music)&oldid=803941122 '' Categories : Rhythm and meter Patterns Hidden categories : Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from December 2009 Articles with hAudio microformats All articles with failed verification Articles with failed verification from August 2013 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from July 2015 All pages needing factual verification Wikipedia articles needing factual verification from August 2013 Wikipedia articles needing clarification from June 2015 Webarchive template wayback links CS1 maint : Extra text : editors list CS1 maint : Extra text : authors list Use dmy dates from September 2010 Articles containing video clips Talk Contents About Wikipedia Alemannisch Български Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Français 한국어 Հայերեն Italiano עברית ಕನ್ನಡ Latina Latviešu 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk Polski Português Русский Српски / srpski Svenska Українська Edit links This page was last edited on 5 October 2017, at 17 : 15. 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Question: in a song that is in a meter of four each grouping of four beats is called a
Answer: metre