Allsen, Cultural Music of the Americas musical terminology return to the Cultural Music of the Americas homepage I. Elements of music rhythm - the organization of time in a musical work into pulses or beats.
Beats occur regularly or irregularly as a work moves through time.
Consonant harmonies are heard as stable, while dissonant harmonies are heard as unstable. Which of these ideas is given greater prominence varies enormously from culture to culture and from style to style. This will be an important consideration in comparing the music of one culture to that of another. Later performers attempt, to the best of their abilities, to perform the work according to this original conception. Improvised music is created by performers reacting spontaneously.