Chapter 4: Beat Subdivisions and Syncopation

In simple meter, what note value is generally paired with a dotted-quarter note to fill out the beat?

eighth note

What guidelines are used to determine which notes to beam together?

the beaming of rhythmic patterns should reflect the beat unit (notes that sound within the same beat should be beamed together)

What note values represent a triplet division of a half-note beat unit?

three quarter notes, one half and one quarter note, one quarter and one half note

What is the difference between a beat division and a beat subdivision?

a beat division is a beat divided into two parts; a beat subdivision is a beat divided into four parts (each beat division is divided into two parts)

beat subdivision

a further division of the beat division into two parts; for example, a quarter note in simple meter divides into two eighths and subdivides into four sixteenths

swung eighths

a performance practice where a rhythm notated with even eighth notes is performed unevenly, with more time allotted to the first eighth and less to the second in each pair

tie

a small arc connecting note heads of two identical pitches to indicate the durations are to be combined together, without rearticulating the pitch; used to notate durations extending across bar line and for durations that cannot be represented with dotted notes

How do you represent a three-part division of a beat in simple meters?

a triplet

slur

an arc that connects two (or more) different pitches and affects performance articulation but not duration; in piano music, they tell the performer to play these smoothly, in vocal music, these notes are sung on one syllable or in one breath

two-beat triplet

in simple meter, a division of a two-beat note into three equal notes (e.g., in 4/4, a half note divided into three quarter notes)

triplet

in simple meter, a division of the beat into three, instead of two, equal parts

syncopation

rhythmic diplacement of accents created by dots, ties, rests, dynamic markings, or accent marks

What types of rhythmic patterns make syncopations?

rhythms with ties, rests, and accent marks

In simple meter, what note value is generally paired with a dotted-eighth note to fill out the beat?

sixteenth note

What note values represent a triplet division of a quarter-note beat unit?

three sixteenth notes, one quarter and one eighth note, one eighth note and one quarter note

How is a tie difference from a slur?

ties affect the duration of the note(s); slurs do not affect duration, but instead instruct the performer how to play the notes (smoothly on piano, in one breath or syllable in voice, tonguing and bowing in wind and string instruments)

Name seven rhythmic patterns that fill one quarter-note beat unit in simple meter

two eighth notes, 4 sixteenth notes, one eighth and two sixteenth notes, two sixteenth notes and one eighth note, a sixteenth note followed by an eighth note and then sixteenth note, a dotted eighth note and sixteenth note, a sixteenth note and dotted eighth note