Meter and Duration Peruse the next several pages in the text. Sixteenth century music was not notated with barlines. The use of durations, ties, and dots was quite limited. Ties and Dots, Durations of Rests See the restrictions listed in the text. Duration and Meter White notes begin on the beat.
Rests begin only on a strong beat.
Eighth notes occur in pairs, beginning off the beat. So far, the limitations of duration and meter indicate a predictable, unsyncopated style. However, composers used agogic accents to create interest with unpredictable accentuation. An agogic accent is a stress that results from one note or chord having a relatively long duration. Each bracket ends wherever a note is followed by a longer note.