Mead On Tempo Relations

On Tempo Relations
Author(s): Andrew Mead

Source: Perspectives of New Music, Vol. 45, No. 1 (Winter, 2007), pp. 64-108
Published by: Perspectives of New Music
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On Tempo Relations
I?
Andrew Me
Tempomusics.
relations
While suchbased on assimple
techniques metrical ratios play
modulation, vivid roles in a variety of
large-scale
polyrhythms, or the simultaneous presentation of more than one tempo
are most immediately associated with the work of Elliott Carter and
Charles Ives, a variety of ways to relate tempi by ratios of whole numbers
occurs in the music of Britten, Elgar, Berlioz and many other composers
of earlier eras.1 In the following we will examine an approach to thinking
about such tempo relations, drawing on the work of Henry Cowell,
David Lewin, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and others. The approach, which
treats tempo relations as intervals, is illustrated with analytical examples
and suggestions for compositional use. We will close with a consideration
of the opportunities and constraints imposed by Elliott Carter's use of
large polyrhythms in his music, a feature prominent in his work since
Night Fantasies (1980).
Differences in tempo can be characterized in a number of ways. Many
qualitative terms have been used to indicate tempo changes, and such
On Tempo Relations 65
FUGUE
Allegro molto
Fugue Subject
(J* = J1) Con slancio (l'istesso tempo)
tr
>mj mi ^=î: :^^^

fsost.
f sost.
Return of Purcell Theme, with Fugue Subject
EXAMPLE 1: BENJAMIN BRITTEN, TOUNG PERSON'S GUIDE TO THE

ORCHESTRA, FUGUE SUBJECT AND RETURN OF THEME
changes can be gradual or abrupt. A special class of tempo relation speci

fies the ratio between two successive tempi. The terms metrical modula
tion and proportional tempi have been used to describe such changes.
David Epstein (1995) has examined how proportional tempo changes are
often suggested by a work's structure, even in situations when they are
not overdy specified in a score.2 Whether or not they are indicated, their
effects can be striking, especially in ratios that are not simple doublings or
halvings of the original tempo. The return of the Purcell theme during
the fugal finale of Benjamin Britten's Toung Person's Guide to the Orches
tra is a particularly vivid example of such a shift. This is illustrated in
Example 1.
As a number of previous writers have shown, ratios amongst tempi can
be thought of as intervals, whose qualities are present through a wide
range of absolute tempo rates. Cowell (1930), Stockhausen (1957) and
Lewin (1987) have each used pitch notation as a way of indicating these
intervals, applied both to successive and simultaneous tempi. Using such
notation, and bearing in mind that the representation of whole-number
ratios reproduces the natural tuning system of the overtone series, we
obtain a powerful tool for examining tempo relations in existing music. It
also provides some suggestive ways of extending our repertoire of com
positional techniques.
66 Perspectives of New Music
This approach also allows us to consider tempo relationships without

recourse to metronome markings. By concentrating on the relationships
between tempi of pulses, we can see that those relationships may readily
hold and be heard through a range of different sets of tempi; furthermore,
we are no longer tied to the imagined absolute of tempo rates implied by
the numerical specifics of the metronome, and so can contemplate to what
degree the differences amongst tempi might constitute significant musical
experience. Still further, we will find that by disengaging from an arbitrary
tempo norm (the minute), we can much more readily explore some of the
more complex questions associated with large-scale polyrhythms.
5
Very broad (.0003 = J00QJ> of prading)
Baritone Solo forui^pned f-y~l~lf-;~> _ ^_
EXAMPLE 2: BENJAMIN BRITTEN, WAR REQUIEM, DIES IRAE, MM. 468

75
Example 2 shows another passage from Britten, this from the Dies Irae
section of the War Requiem. In this passage, the eighth-notes from the
previous "Quick (Allegro)" quarter-note tempo become the quintuplet
eighths of the succeeding half-note beat, marked "Very broad (molto lar
gamente)." This yields a ratio of 2:5 between the tempi, which may be
read as following: the second tempo is 2/5ths of the first, and the dura
tion of the second tempo's tactus (the beat, without regard to notation)
is 5/2s that of the tactus of the first. This illustrates the general point that
the reciprocal of the ratio between tempi is the ratio between their
respective tactus's durations.
. 2/5 4/3 2/3 5/4 3/2 3/5
^ 1
Pitch heads here represent tempos (pulse rates), Interval ratios may be
not durations. Ratios are read as follows: determined from the
x/y of the initial tempo yields the new tempo overtone series,
(reading from left to right). If x/y indicates the
change of pulse rate,.y/x indicates the change
of durations. The reciprocals can also be read
to reverse the direction of the change (i.e., to read
from right to left).
EXAMPLE 3: TEMPO RATIOS
Simple ratios, of course, may be derived from the o

we may use that fact to notate tempo ratios using st
ratio of 2:5, the relationship between the two su
Example 2, may thus be considered a descending
third; the ratio from the lower note to the upper no
being 5/4, and the octave being 2/1. Thus, 4/5 form
the higher to the lower note, and 1/2 is combined wi
lower note an octave. Combining ratios is, of course,
multiplication. Notated on a musical staff, this bec
read. Example 3 illustrates the preceding.
. P RT4/3IP T8/9IP RT10/9P T5/3P RT1/1P
wmj J J J IJ?-^J iJ U j i? jj 'j f j j ^ j~rJ i1 i r"' J u^j j

I = invert around middle C
T = Transpose by the indicated ratio (1/1 is the identity operator)
If middle C represents J - 45, one may chart the sequence of tempi through this design:
45 60 40 50 75 45 | 60 36 54 67 5 45 60 | 40 30 45 36 24 40 | 50
EXAMPLE 4: TEMPO STRING TRANSFORMATIONS
It is not hard to learn the different tempo intervals determined by a

small range of simple ratios as distinct musical experiences, independent of
the absolute tempi involved. Certainly this is the case with "twice as fast"
or "twice as slow," and ratios of 2:3, 3:4, and so on have vivid individual
qualities as well. Since these are intervals, one is tempted to play with
them as such. Example 3 contains a sequence of tempi marked as note
heads, their intervals marked as ratios. We can transform this string of
tempi using equivalents of the familiar interval-preserving operations, as
shown in Example 4. These operations here can be defined as follows:
Transposition will not affect the ratios; it will merely change the initial
tempo by the interval specified. Inversion will turn each successive ratio
into its reciprocal, while preserving their relative order. Retrograde Inver
sion reverses the relative order of the original sequence of ratios, while
Retrogression does both, reversing the order of the sequence of ratios, as
well as changing each into its reciprocal. The continuation of Example 4
illustrates various combinations of these operations applied to the initial
string of tempi to produce a rudimentary compositional design.3
Certain compositionally suggestive features can be observed here. For
example, the resulting six sections as a whole produce a larger and more
complex version of the tempo contour of the original string. This might
invite a realization that would echo the qualities of the initial tempo
string over the span of the whole piece. Further, certain segments and
individual tempi of the original string recur in the larger string, inviting
foreshadowing or echoing between passages of the same tempo, or
sequence of tempi.
Nor need we limit ourselves to sequences of tempi: Example 5 com
bines different tempi together simultaneously in different strands of
pulses, notated traditionally. When the ratios of those pulse streams are
notated as intervals on the staff, a familiar pattern of relationships will
emerge. I will leave that as an exercise for the reader.
The preceding examples raise some questions both of perception and of
practicality. Since the ratios among tempi are the same simple ratios as
found in the natural tuning of the overtones, we will run into the same
questions of tuning that one finds in the pitch domain. For example, the
ratios of 9:8 and 10:9 are both represented in our note-head notation by a
major second; thus, if one were to depart from a tempo by the ratio of 9:8
and to return by the ratio of 9:10, in an absolute mathematical frame
work, the return would not be to the original tempo (see Example 3). But
in an experiential world, the tempo difference would be so slight as not to
make a difference in hearing, nor would one expect performers to be able
to adhere to such exacting standards. This is not to say that the difference,
which would be a ratio of 80:81, could not be made musically significant;
such a polyrhythm could easily be notated and played out over an appro
priate span, but the question here deals with what kind of flexibility can
and should be brought into how we think about intervals in the tempo
domain. In my personal experience, tempo differences of less than five
4/3 (J>. = J) 5/6
[H- -ii-f-f
l-3-1 i-3-1 i?S?i i-5-ii-5-1 i?_T?i i-5-1?5?i-5-1
"*r r r r r r ic_T__/t_rJ
*r7_7i?ir|c_/-_r_r' 8r i". r5rg rg r f
L**r?r r r lir?r?r?Hii^rt/tjT"'"^ u
I"3 r- r c r it r it r / r r c r r / r r_ r
''8-_^__/^t_r?*r?r ^ r s r ^ r ^ r?
" i? o~3r^_rr ?r K^__}pE-rT87f?
[?4r?r-r-tf-1??r?r-1
EXAMPLE 5: FOR YOUR AMUSEMENT
percent seem negligible; my own threshold seems to be around the same

sort of ratio that would be represented by a half-step in pitch.
Other issues of perception come into play here as well. Perceiving a
tempo depends on recognizing a string of events of equal length. I will
refer to such a string neutrally as a pulse string. Mathematically, such
strings can be infinitely manipulated, but there are limitations to our per
ception of them. Both Epstein (1995) and Stockhausen (1957) discuss
the upper and lower rate limits of our perception of such strings, and
Stockhausen (1962) shows how the composer has used both the concept
of continuity of the abstract relationships and the perceptual changes
wrought over various portions of that continuity to shape such works as
Kontakte. Brower (1993) has further parsed the perceptual range in
terms of beats, subdivisions of beats, and multiple beats. All three tie
their observations to issues of embodiment; I shall do so as well.
Example 6 offers an overview of what happens when one takes a simple
tempo (in this case mm = 60) and multiplies it successively by ratios of
2:1 or 1:2. As may be seen, after a certain number of iterations of 2:1,
what we initially hear as an even string of pulses can be turned into pitch;
in the other direction, we swiftly find ourselves losing the ability to
recognize equal spacing without counting subdivisions?try clapping an
accurate four beats a minute without counting seconds!
Rate/sec.
P'tch 256 ... o_,
(A= 12864
\">:
Ê
m Eg
32 ^
I i , 16 || j_|
I
Beat Subdivision 8 _||?J J J J J J.JJ
I
4 || J J J J
, I
' 2 || J J
Beat
(mm = 60)
! ^
Measure I
1/4 || o
i i 1/8 L?h
i i
i i
Long Time; 1/16 16"
1/32 32"
EXAMPLE 6: PERCEPTUAL CHANGES CO

PULSE RATE
An excellent example of how our experience of a musical event can be

changed depending upon the time-span over which it is played may be
found in Elgar's Symphony No. 1 in Ak A prominent motive in the sec
Mvt.II:mm5-U
Allegro molto J = 69^^ _ ^^ __ ^^ ^^
Mvt. II: mm 383 - 389
Ait ^ MvtII:420-431_| _ _^
Mvt. Ill: 1-12

Adagio J> = 50 9 _
j*ifn rynj.fTrn i' J J J^|H JT7.1 iiJT3r in r?l
^ r__S -
EXAMPLE 7: TEMPO TRANSFORMATIONS IN ELGAR'S FIRST SYMPHONY,

MVMTS. II AND III
ond movement (a scherzo) is a rapid scurrying passage of some fifty-plus

sixteenth notes, played in a context of a half-note beat of more than 60
bpm. During the transition to the following slow movement, this string
of notes (or an identifiable portion of its head) is slowed down in a con
trolled way, from sixteenths to triplets, to eighths, and finally to quarter
notes. Ultimately, the whole string, now articulated by varying rhythmic
patterns, becomes the long, slow opening melody of the new move
ment.4 These passages are illustrated in Example 7. The fact that this
relationship is not noticed by many listeners, despite the demonstrated
slowing down of the transition, derives, I believe, from the huge differ
ence in time-spans between the string of notes experienced as a lick in the
scherzo and the same string of notes heard as a long, ornate melody in
the following slow movement.5
I find it useful, within the range of performable tempi, to think in
terms of three conceptual frames, the range of each overlapping the oth
ers to a certain extent (compare with Brower (1993)). These are derived
from physical action, and correspond roughly to notated beats; subdivi
sions of beats; and measures, or multiples of beats. I will use these three
terms to define my conceptual frames as follows: a beat is what is
accomplished by the complete cycle of a muscle group: the tapping of a

foot, the striking of a finger, the circling of an arm. Upper limits to the
rate of beats are determined by how fast a complete cycle may be accom
plished. Subdivisions of beats arise from reciprocal motions, or by the
sequential firing of muscle groups: the trilling of two fingers, the drum
ming of two hands, a complete left-right stride, the performance of
arpeggiated triplets. Upper limits of subdivisions depend on how many
muscle groups are being fired: subdivisions by ten of quite rapid beats
can be made between two hands on a keyboard. Lasriy, the notion of a
measure will become useful in those situations in which one needs to
keep track of multiple beats.
These three divisions are not hard and fast, and as I suggest in Example
6, can overlap each other considerably. They are also open to multiple
physical interpretations: under certain circumstances, for example, one
might want to consider each step of a stride to constitute a beat, while in
another context, it would be the completed cycle of left-right that would
be more comfortably understood as a beat. Clearly, what we may want to
consider a subdivision in one context will be a beat in another, and what
may seem a beat in one context could be a measure in another; further
more, we may often want more than three levels at which to consider
rhythm. If a subdivision is itself divisible by two primes over the beat
(consider sextuplets, for example), it will invite more than one interpreta
tion as to which factor is the subdivision of the beat, and which is the
subdivision of the resulting divisions of the beat.
I am going into this a bit at length here, as I find for my purposes these
questions of embodiment impose interesting qualitative differences
amongst interpretations of pulse strings as beats, subdivisions of beats, or
multiples of beats. For me, even (duple) subdivisions of beats have a sig
nificandy different feel from odd subdivisions. The former seem hard
edged in comparison to the rounder, more rolling qualities of triple,
quintuple or septuple subdivisions. Similar distinctions can hold between
beats and measures as well. These qualitative differences can be very
strong: a given pulse-string interpreted as different subdivisions (or mul
tiples of beats) can feel very different in those contexts, to the point of
overriding one's ability to recognize it as the same neutral rate.
Groupings of pulses into beats, subdivisions and measures may co
incide with a work's notation, but there are many situations in which
they do not. If a composer has more than one tempo present in a pas
sage, the visual cues that can mark various rhythmic groupings can be
obscured. Example 8 illustrates a passage in which a metrical grouping
of beats into threes (or a slow beat subdivided by three) emerges at a dif
ferent tempo from that notated. The example includes a pitch-notation
-H-|-|f?-J-h-o-J-1-J-e
_ "Qtated tempo resultant tempo_
rate of resultant metrical grouping
EXAMPLE 8: EMBEDDED TEMPOS AND METER
for the notated tempo, the tempo of the groupings of three, and the
subdivisional pulse-stream.
\JL
'* ?8"
|j -' ^ "5, m
t7 5-8-4 ^~5 :or2 :?r2
Britten, Example 2 Britten, Example 2
tempos determined by tempos of pulse-rates

multiples of a given pulse-rate subdividing a given
time-span
J= 132 > = > J =
o J = o
EXAMPLE 9: MULTIPLES AND SUBDIVISIONS OF PU
As Example 8 suggests, using pitch notation to indic

a useful tool for seeing a given time-span (a beat or
vided by various pulse-streams, or a given pulse-stre
various subdivisions of different spans. Example 9 il
complementary approaches (compare with Stockh
former is equivalent to the overtone series, and is rea
up. The latter flips the intervals of the overtone seri
J. J
J J
T
t\ ?
J A =186.7 3:8
J_5 J = 93.3 3:4
J J> J =175 2:5 /L jL I
This catalogue reproduces the information found on

pages 34 and 35 of Schiff (1983), along with a graphic
notation of the same information. The durations on the
left represent the tactusof70bpm maintained by the a_^_

second violin. The metronome marks indicate the no- j *K ] = qa <-a M_ U ?L I
tatedtactus. The ratios represent the ratio of the notated \J ? (fo P ft :==\
tactus to the tactus of the second violin The graphic ~*2
(pitch) notation of tempi show the second violin's tactus
as a breve, the notated tactus as a whole note, and related
tacti based on the common string of pulses as quarter-note
heads._|
EXAMPLE 10a: TEMPI IN ELLIOTT CARTER'S STRING QUARTET NO. 2
can be read from the top down. Once again, the example from Britten's
War Requiem provides an illustration. Since the two tempi of the
example share a pulse stream (eighth notes in the former becoming quin
tuplets in the latter), they will both appear as places in the stack of tempi
derived from various hatchings of this pulse stream. But since the num
bers of beats in each bar of the two tempi are complementarity related to
the change of subdivision, the two tempi will both occur in the stack of
tempi that subdivide a given pulse stream, in this case the rate of the bar.
q _?_m_a_? tm_J_
General catalogue of tempi relatable to a single tactus
(G = 70 bpm)
EXAMPLE 10b: GENERAL CATALOGUE OF TEMPI IN ELLIO

STRING QUARTET NO. 2
The ease with which staff notation can reveal relations

streams provides us with some useful tools for looking at
rhythmic situations. For example, the approach allows u
how a given tempo can be used to generate a particular s
tempi. Different subdivisions of the given tempo will place it
locations in stacks of tempi related by grouping a fixed-su
stream rate, as in the first of the two situations illustrated i
This catalogues the various tempi in which an initial
embedded, and can be read to show how the resulting co
tempi may be related to each other. David Schiff (1983)
the second violin in Elliott Carter's String Quartet No. 2
fixed tempo throughout the work, embedded in a set of
Example 10a reproduces Schiff's chart of tempi and ratio
prets it in terms of staff notation, and Example 10b offers t
alogue of tempi to which the fixed tempo may be related.
this general catalogue in effect creates a temporal interpr
Boulez (1971) calls multiplication of a pitch-class collectio
class collection, and what Cohn (1988) has explored as
combination. Charting tempi in this way can simplify ho
relationships. It is important to note that it is based comp
tempo is related to either its subdivisions or its multiples;
is notated, of course, can vary considerably.
7<J=j^)___,_,__,_, a a J-?
J-S4
?^?2-_-^ (-m?-, , 5_,

||?hiJ jy ?j v '^VTifTFT * > * ^TrlT^r
[Dyw?iq lave been omitted. Chingw of tonpo ?i? nutted by ratio, m oppoeed to the corapoMt't origin- m-kingi of duration aquivtUntt |
J = g4_ ,-r--, *-.1
EXAMPLE llA: ELLIOTT CARTER, STRING QUARTET NO. 3, MM. 117-27
Staff notation can also clarify features of complex passages involving

changes of tempo and subdivision. Example 11 is drawn from Carter's
String Quartet No. 3. In this passage the second violin and viola are
overlapping pulse-streams of various rates in changing meters and tempi.
From a purely practical standpoint, it is not immediately clear what the
relative rates of these various streams might be. By tracking the rates both
of the underlying written beats and their subdivisions with staff notation,
Bars:
117 120 123 124 127
u ^--_* l_> _ ^
__ *__ k?. E E ^-T?^__ E *__""__ E
90bpm 72bpm 84bpm |112bpm j 84bpm

?r* l? ?? ! E ! E
90bpm72bpm 84bpm 112bpm
EXAMPLE llB: BEAT AND SUBDIVISION TEMPI IN A POR

CARTER'S STRING QUARTET NO. 3
it is possible to gather a very quick and clear picture

rates over the passage. This is illustrated in Examples
Such a picture can be useful to performers in gaini
over-all shape of a complex passage. The Larry Teal Sa
has found such charts useful in sorting out passages
XAS. Example 12a illustrates such a passage, and Exam
of its tempo relations. While this chart helps clarify t
the various subdivisions of both the notated tactus and th
it also shows how these streams line up. An additional
of the chart is the use of metrical notation applied t
heads to indicate the relative displacement of the beat
are being subdivided. This can allow one to track stream
resent the same rate, but be out of phase with each other
Charts such as these can also clarify larger spans of
illustrates a couple of passages from Carter's Canarie
pani etudes.7 Issues of departure and return, or the wa
music accelerates in a step-wise manner against a stea
very clear in this notation. An awareness of such large
aid considerably in the shaping of a performance.
Example 14 charts out significant tempo relations i
Carter's Eight Etudes and a Fantasy for Woodwind Qua
an additional staff has been added to track the metrica
notated beat. Stemmed notes here indicate the notated
indicating their continuation with different subdivisio
ful features that emerges from such a chart is the pre
secondary tempi, either as subdivisions, or as groupin
^100 n*
EXAMPLE 12A: IANNIS XENAKIS, XASy MM. 89-93

I _____^n^ zL-, _,__m__^lZ?- ___ ,_,-j?. _,_ ?,^[ ? ?
-f fMfll(MMt|1 I
represented by the upper notes. Ties in the lower notes indicate the duration of i given tactus; rhythmic placement of each duration
EXAMPLE 12b: METER, BEATS, AND SUBDIVISIONS IN IANNIS XENAKIS'S XAS
Bar:
1 11 18 19 21 23 46 47 60 62 63 66 72 78
_? _? _l _* I
_?__:_*: z_ ? __; _z I __
in hnm 12090bpm
180 270
90 % '64
* 96
120
144% T^^^"^->
3x72 3x108 1
| NB: Stems indicate notated tactus; bpm numbers refer to stemmed tempiT]
EXAMPLE 13: TWO PASSAGES FROM ELLIOTT CARTER'S CANARIES
subdivision pulses that are not notated as beats. See, for example, the
establishment at bar 61 of what will emerge as the notated tactus in bar
76, or the presence at both bars 35 and 96 of a pulse rate of 48 bpm (the
parenthesized "A"s) that never actually emerges as a notated tactus.
Using this approach can lead to opportunities for constructing even
more elaborate compositional designs, particularly if one is willing to take
advantage of the kinds of approximations implied by the notational sys
tem. For example, if we can accommodate a difference of a few percent
between two successive or temporally separated occurrences of a given
tempo, we can navigate within a tempo space using simple ratios for local
changes, yet with an understanding of that space as not infinitely divis
ible. For example, compounding 7:5 with 7:5 is not exactly 2:1, nor is
Bar:
1 14 17 18 31 32 35 40 43 48 50 60 67 74 76 77 78 82 93 % 108
Subdivisions:
* A &? *
Ag_III 1*
Beats: ^ 54 bpm
Bars:
EXAMPLE 14: TEMPOS IN ELLIOTT CARTER'S "FANTASY" FROM EIGHT

ETUDES AND A FANTASY
Trio no. 1
btnffiaioso -.
_it~*Tij_j_^'~t; j_j_
Piano/ wfansioso ^ _^
**?/" dramatico
EXAMPLE 15A: ANDREW MEAD, TRIO NO. 1, OPENING BARS
compounding three instances of 5:4 exacdy 2:1, but the resulting com
parative ratios, 49:50 in the first case, and 125:128 in the latter, seem
negligible in comparison to the sense of doppio movemento achieved in
each case, especially if this is reinforced by the return of some sort of rec
ognizable musical cue. This, of course, is a compromise (one negotiated
more than two centuries ago in pitch), but one that seeks to be realistic
both about our limits as performers, and our limits as listeners.8
Examples 15a, b, and c illustrate three passages from one of the author's
pieces in which a given meter and tempo for the cello recurs, only the last
(J-80)
p - ?- PP -=====Z
mf -=========
_, J, 1 J_J, j +J_
1 " If J?
^ *- _P_P /-*-'
EXAMPLE 15b: ANDREW MEAD, TRIO NO. 1, CHANGE OF CONTEXT FOR

CELLO'S MUSIC
(J = 51)_ _(f) 0.-61) _
mp - pocof -
pocof ?= bmf
maestoso
(J -51) ' ~L. (_tf_,
?. ) ,-3-* ??> P ^Pocof "P

P? >< |_a_i r?l-n |_s_ ,_3_, ,-S-1
EXAMPLE 15c: ANDREW MEAD, TRIO NO. 1, RETURN OF CELLO TEMPO
of which is notated in that meter and tempo. Example 15d is a chart of

the tempo relations in the three passages. One aspect to note is that the
relatively close approximation of 5:4 and 9:7 (both 'major thirds' in pitch
notation) allows the kind of figuration found in the upper reaches of the
piano at the outset to be heard to return (albeit in a different kind of
Violin (fc n- Violin S="

*= _
(&? > {if

Cello 7 I Cello/ "
h - r>:
Piano J? ., piano Jj m
(upper) Cfffr ^^ (upper) (ft f
j^ *?.".n
Piano J? , Piano i p
(lower) l^y Up I (lower) Iffi f ^
C = 80 (G# = 64, etc.) 11C = 80
Stemmed notes indicate notated beat. Two notes on one stem equal the n
Lower staff of cello indicates metrical the implied secondary beats (dotted
grouping of its own slower tempo. triplet quarter in violin, etc.). Note t
represent the same beat and meter as in previous e
127 ? ^
K., I ?
K. ?
^ ?J
?_
E = 51
Successive notes indicate change of subdivision and/or beat.
Note that the notated beat and meter now coincide with
the cello's music; note also that the piano's lower voice
replicates the pulse rate of the upper voice at the opening.
EXAMPLE 15d: TEMPI IN ANDREW MEAD'S TRIO NO. 1
metrical context) in the third passage illustrated. The comparisons of the

passages are illustrated using pitch notation for tempi.
A significant issue that emerges from the sorts of music we have been
discussing is the question of polyrhythms. If, as I have suggested above,
small differences of rate are negligible and are often subsumed by rubato,
what are we to make of such a situation as we find in bars 124-7 in
Example 11? As we can see from the chart, the difference between the
violin passage over 124 and 125 and the longer lick beginning in 126 is
very small?less than a half step in staff notation?and thus invites us to
associate these two bits in contrast to what the instrument is doing dur
ing the rest of the passage. On the other hand, the viola's constant rate
through this passage, especially during bar 126 and 127, invites us to
contemplate the difference between the violin's two passages. The actual
difference, a ratio of 20:21, is beneath my threshold for recognizing a
significant difference between successive passages, or those separated by
time, but what would have happened to bar 127 had Carter used only 20
notes in the violin part? One consequence of such a decision would have
been to cause an alignment between the violin and viola part at every
dotted eighth-note, creating a very different metrical interpretation of
bar 127 in which the four beats of the viola part would have been con
firmed through a series of 4 against 5 polyrhythms between the two
instruments. But rather than hear the written version as simply a blur, we
can, using the difference between beat and subdivision, imagine a way to
characterize our sense of more complex ratios.
Such a situation is illustrated in Example 16, in which the polyrhythm
of 15 against 16 is interpreted through an interaction of beat, subdivision
and meter, both written and implied. In this passage, we may hear two
metric strands in the clarinet and cello, establishing a measure-long ratio
of 3:4, while additionally each beat pulse-stream is further subdivided,
the cello by four, and the clarinet by five. The effect is not one of 15:16,
but of 3, subdivided by the rolling quality of 5, against 4, subdivided by
the squared-off quality of 4. That this results in 15:16 is, in effect, a by
product. Similarly, the example from Carter discussed above may be con
strued as three beats subdivided by 7 against four beats subdivided by 4,
yielding the polyrhythm of 16:21.
The experience of such complex polyrhythms over short timespans
tends to emphasize this kind of interpretation, in which the polyrhythms
are factored into simpler ratios of beats, themselves further enriched by
subdivisions that are more readily distinguished by quality than by actual
numerical count. But if we slow down such a polyrhythm, playing it over
a much longer timespan, it becomes possible to hear the relations
between the pulses of each stream in some detail, and even quite complex
[v? _ r? ?-~3 -_
-/ = "' ?=/^ (_ "V
EXAMPLE 16: FROM ANDREW MEAD'S FANTASY-QUARTET NO. 2 (SCORE

IN C), MM. 109-14
ratios acquire heard consequences. Elliott Carter has explored these in

his work in various fashions for over half a century. We will consider some
of the most extreme examples here.
In virtually all of his work since Night Fantasies (1979-90), Carter has
used some large polyrhythm to span whole compositions.9 These poly
rhythms (present over shorter spans in earlier works such as the Piano
Concerto and the String Quartet No. 3) combine large mutually prime
numbers. For practical reasons, as we shall see, the prime factors of these
numbers are usually constrained to 2, 3, 5 and 7, this last being the largest
prime number Carter entrusts his performers to be able to subdivide a
beat with accurately. Using large polyrhythms to span a composition
might seem like an arbitrary conceit; a method simply to hold both ends
of a composition apart, were it not for the fact that the choice of poly
rhythm both limits the range of metrical grids that can project it (and thus
determines the tempo ratios that can be used in the work) but also deter
mines to a large extent where changes of metrical grid, and thus change of
surface tempo, may occur. Obviously, these limitations need not hold if
one is working in the electronic medium, but they provide interesting
ranges of possibilities for structuring compositions for live performance.
A: Prime factors a, b (for present purposes, A = ab)

X: Prime factors x, y (for present purposes, X = xy)
A X Fractions Timespans
y/b, a/x y/bA=a/xX = ay
x/b, a/y x/bA=a/yX = ax
x/a, b/y x/a A = b/yX = xb
y/a, b/x y/aA=b/xX = yb
N.B.: You may generate the different fraction pairs by flipping diagonals.
EXAMPLE 17: DETERMINING REPERTOIRES OF TIMESPANS FOR LARGE

POLYRHYTHMS
A simple method for determining possible metrical interpretations for

a large polyrhythm is illustrated in Example 17. Two large mutually
prime numbers, A and X, are factored into primes. For the sake of sim
plicity, each factor in this example appears once, and each large number
has two prime factors (I will discuss other possibilities below). The set o
pairs of reciprocally related fractions listed beneath A and X provide
ways of generating the polyrhythm A:X over different multiples o
equally spaced time-spans. Thus, for instance, the first pair of fractions,
y/b and a/x, will yield the polyrhythm A:X over ay timespans: y/b A =
y/b - (ab) = ay, and #/# X = #/# (i^,) = ay. Each fraction is applied to
the time-spans in familiar ways. By fixing the length of time over which
one wishes the polyrhythm to unfold, one can determine the range of
relative tempi for the different resulting numbers of time-spans pro
duced by each set of fractions.
If A or X contains more than one representative of its prime factors, additional timespans
may be derived by multiplying the fraction pairs by ratios of duplicated primes.
Thus, if X = x2y2, then j>2/_?, a/x2 could be altered by x/y to become xy/b, a/xy, yielding
timespan axy.
EXAMPLE 18: DETERMINING ADDITIONAL TIMESPANS IN THE CASE OF

MULTIPLE PRIMES
A greater variety of numbers of time-span can arise if A, X, or both

contain more than one representative of its prime factors. As Example 18
shows, this will increase the number of fraction-pairs in predictable ways.
The sets of time-spans derived above may be minimally interpreted as
beats, in which case the fractions will be based on subdivisions. If this is
the case, change of metrical interpretation and thus tempo will depend
on the intersection of beats in the various tempi over the whole time
span. However, the time-spans might be interpreted as multiples of beats
in various ways, thus providing further opportunities for changing tempi
of their underlying beats.
Example 19 illustrates an interpretation of a polyrhythm of 35:36. As
may be seen, the combinations of primes and their multiples yield a ros
ter of six different sets of time-spans that can be articulated by their
appropriate fractions to project the polyrhythm. We can interpret the
ratios amongst these sets of time-spans using staff notation, thus sug
gesting the repertoire of tempo relations that could be used in a realiza
tion of the polyrhythm.
Example 20 contains a sample compositional design derived from the
information of Example 19, along with a simple realization, using single
bars to represent time-spans. As may be seen at the outset, the bars are
articulated by spans of either 5/9ths or 4/7ths the bar length, being the
appropriate fractions for that layer. When the tempo changes, we are
shifting to a different layer, and so the fractions change. As can be seen,
what facilitates the change in layer is the coincidence of the beginning of
36 = 32,22
35 = 5,7
Fractions:
36 35 Timespans
5/9, 4/7 20
7/9, 4/5 28
5/4 9/7 45
7/4, 9/5 63
Plus 3/2 applied to fractions yields:
5/6, 6/7 30
7/6, 6/5 42
Sample realization:
Length:
0 1/4 3/7 2/3 4/5 8/9 end

63 | || | | |-7
45 | || | |-4-1
42 | | |-10-1 | |
30 | || |-4-1 |
28 | |~ 5?-1 | | |
20 |-5-1 I I I I
Tempo Shifts:
7/5 3/2 5/7 3/2 7/5
Length fractions indicate the portion of the composition since the openin
within lines indicate the multiple of timespans employed from a given d
overall length; i.e., the composition ends with 7 of the timespans from the
divides the overall length into 63 timespans. Tempo shift ratios indicate
intervals between adjacent spans. For example, if this were to be realize
span of one minute, the tempos could be read from the timespan list as b
EXAMPLE 19: CONSTRUCTING A POLYRHYTHM OF
the fractional duration with the beginning of a time-span, in

bar. Greater flexibility in changing metrical grids can be
uses more finely divisible units for the basic time-spans.
22 offer another polyrhythm, its analysis, and a sample reali
^'^t?a?i i?3?i i?3?i I?S?i i?S?\ i-S?i 7/5

I"2 r~f rTTr H f~Tr r r r nr iO nr r r~?
I?r?I I?7-1 i?r?i i-7-1 (?7?i I-7-1 I-7-1
Mir~nfrrfr'frrr"T
? J-? r-?-, r-?-> _r-a-, r-?-i M
I" ^ t rrrr rr~rr ^ i? nr rj??r
Wr??1?- pp^T^^r^^^?I.
// ^ = 63 _ _ _
II "o-1^~ po-#?i^To--l-e^-^?d o~"~ Tp>-q -"
i?5?i _ i-5-1 i-5-1 i-5-1
u- ^ r r?" r iTtt r"

J7 _ _ 5/7 J==45_
|??- rrr??nr t rp--r ? r

_I-5 i i-5-1 i-?-1 I-7-1
|?_^_ ^. *r
22 (3/2) J = 90
f^-f=fr?rr
i"nlrnr
25 7/5 J = 126
|| ô-H-e-l-fi^-j? |~o-[?j?-<g^ jô-1-|?-&*-V-&-V-&
I-7- i-5-1 i-5-1 I-5-1
I ii If y > piTo^
EXAMPLE 20: A REAL
By limiting ourselves
resulting space of polyrh
ably circumscribed. Usi
are only three ways of
model to groupings of
Simple (i.e., partial) realization of the potentials in 45:56
45 56 Timespans
7/5, 9/8 63
8/5, 9/7 72
8/9, 5/7 40
7/9, 5/8 35
Sample realization:
Length:
0 1/5 3/7 5/9 3/4 end

72 | | | 1?14?|
63 | | 1-8-1 |
40 1-8?1 | | 1?10
35 | |-8-| | |
Tempo Shifts:
7/8 9/5 8/7 5/9
EXAMPLE 21: CONSTRUCTING THE POLYRHYTHM 45:56
see that that only adds four more combinations. From this we can
the entire repertoire of sets of fractions, as well as sets of time-spans,
the possible combinations of 2, 3, 5 and 7 as prime factors. Adding
tiples of primes will increase the range of interpretations in predi
ways. This is illustrated in Example 23.
The basic relationships amongst the primes and their various dist
tions within the parts of large polyrhythms can be summarized usi
octahedron. Each pair of opposed vertices represents one of the th
distributions of primes by pairs. For a given distribution, the four rem
ing vertices yield the basic repertoire of timespans available to reali
polyrhythm, and the edges of the resulting square can be read as
ratios that relate them. It is interesting to note that these ratios ar
force the ratios of the primes within each member of a given distribut
of the four primes. Parallel lines, i.e., unconnected edges, will repr
the same ratio, and the reversal of direction from vertex to vertex can
produced by taking the reciprocal of the connecting edge's ratio. T
illustrated in Example 24.
r-3-\ rS-i i-3-1 rSi f-3-\ i?3?i rS~i i???i rS~i \-S?\
J _ 9/5
ru? rtfi_r_j? rrtr_r__T ir~_'rpr'_/r

i-S-1 i???i rS-i i-3-1 i?a?i i?S?i r-S-i i-ff-1 i-ff-1
btnrrrfr men it
11 _ 8/7 I-*-1 I-*-?-9-1 I-7-1-7-1
I"? r trjr fr_/[or~p
I-ff-1 I-ff-1 i-ff-1 t-S?\ i?S?i I?3?| (?3?
I-3-1 (???i ' 7?3-1 "" i-3-1 r~S?\ I?3?i

H rnrnnrn f^tfr~?n lo?
EXAMPLE 22: A REALIZATION OF 49:56 BASED ON EXAMPLE 21
Obviously, all of the preceding discussion of polyrhythms has be

predicated on the limitations of live performance, and any polyrhy
could be realized electronically. The limiting factor in live performan
the ability to subdivide a time-span accurately by a prime number,
the largest prime most performers are probably comfortable with
Prime Distributions for various large-number polyrhythms:
A X Sample combinations (using multiples of individual primes):
5,7 2,3 35:36 175:216 (Carter Night Fantasies)

2,5 3,7 20:21 50:63 80:147 etc.
3,5 2,7 15:14 45:56 75:98 etc.
2,3,5 7 30:49 fraction pairs: 7/6, 5/7; 7/5,6/7; 7/3, 10/7, etc.
2,3,7 5 42:25
2,5,7 3 70:81
3,5,7 2 105:128
Large-number polyrhythms may employ fewer than four primes:
For example:
2,3 7 36:49
Larger primes than 7 may be used, so long as the denominator remains reasonably sm
or the timespans are sufficiently long to allow being divided into as many beats as th
longest prime.
Thus,
3/2, 11/7 and

7/2, 11/3
will yield 21:22, but trying to use 11 in the denominator could be tricky (pace Milton
Babbitt and Brian Ferneyhough).
EXAMPLE 23: SOME OF THE POSSIBLE POLYRHYTHMS USING SMALL

PRIMES
seven. Furthermore, in electronic situations, we need not be interested in

issues of metrical grids, or their relative tempi: these arise from attempts
to work within familiar notational conventions. But those notational con
ventions derive from, or at least are associated with, the kinds of embod
ied interpretations of beats, subdivisions and multiples that I discussed
above. Thus, the limits so imposed, being our ability to feel subdivisions,
along with our ability to feel different tempi of beats, can become com
positionally suggestive in the ways we might use large polyrhythms to
structure sections, movements, or entire pieces.
I will close with an example from one of my own pieces, the second
movement of a Trio for violin, alto saxophone and piano. The score for
this movement (with the saxophone notated in C) may be found as an
appendix to this article, while Examples 25 and 26 illustrate the tempo
Let a = 2, b = 3, x = 5, and>> = 7
_-*^_4>^
EXAMPLE 24: REPRESENTING THE PAIRINGS OF PRIMES ON AN

OCTAHEDRON
framework and the combinations of different musical effects in the v

and saxophone. The movement is based on a polyrhythm of 3
articulated in the saxophone and the violin, respectively. The fir
attach points of the two strands are marked with stars on the first pa
the score.
I was not so much interested in projecting the large polyrhythm
was in using it to provide a set of constraints for structuring the mus
this end I constructed the tempo design found in Example 25, w
used to articulate six variants in the piano, each of which appears
Against this I layered the two sustaining instruments, each of which p
a series of variants of three different kinds of music. The pattern of
and their combinations appears in Example 26. While the big polyr
Length:
0 1/10 1/6 3/14 2/7 1/3 4/10 1/2 4/7 2/3 4/5 8/9 Coda
63 | | | | 1-3?1 I II I I I I-7--III
45 | | | | | |-3?| || | | 1-4?1 HI
42 | | 1-2?1 I I I II 1-4?1 | | HI
30 | 1-2?1 I I I I II I 1-4?1 | HI
28 | | | 1-2?1 | | H-2?| I I I III
20 1-2?1 I I I I 1-2? || I I I I III
Tempo Shifts:
3/2 7/5 2/3 9/4* 5/7 4/9 7/5** 3/2 5/7 3/2 7/5*
Numbers in the left-hand column indicate the timespans of each tempo layer as in previous examples.
In this piece, each timespan in each layer is equivalent to twelve beats at the appropriate tempo, with
the exception of the top layer, which is notated at Vi its presumptive tempo. Thus, in the score the ratios
here marked * will be different. The fact that each timespan is a multiple of measures allows an additional
tempo change in the music, during the passage marked **. In the preceding passage the twelve beats are first
grouped as two bars of 3/2, and are followed by two bars of 12/8, effectively increasing the tempo by a
multiple of 4/3. This continues into the first half of the next section, in which the tempo is altered by 7/5.
In the second half of the new section the tempo is decreased by 3/4, thus returning to the tempo associated
with that layer. See Example 19 for the related sets of ratios for constructing the polyrhythm.
EXAMPLE 2 5 : TEMPO CHANGES IN THE SECOND MOVEMENT OF TRIO FOR

VIOLIN, ALTO SAXOPHONE, AND PIANO
Violin: C - B B B A A A - C C C - B B - A
Saxophone: C C C - B B - AAA- B B B A A A/C
A: flowing
B: declamato
C: lento
N.B.: The combination B/B was repeated for dramatic effect.
EXAMPLE 26: BASIC PATTERN OF MUSICAL QUALITIES IN THE VIOLIN

AND SAXOPHONE PARTS OF TRIO
is not all that prominent, the changes amongst the musics in the violin
and saxophone are articulated at some of its attack points, and phrases
within each of the kinds of music frequently coincide with the poly
rhythm's timespans. Further, each sustaining instrument respects the limi
tations of the subdivisions it must use to articulate the polyrhythm, thus
imposing still another layer of emergent tempi on the musical surface.
Frequently the groupings thus formed imply different meters and tempi in
each instrument so that the resulting surface can sound quite disjunct.
The larger regularities imposed by the use of the polyrhythm will, I hope,
create an overall frame that will give a more coherent context to the music
as a whole. This, perhaps, can be heard at the close of the movement,
where the violin and the saxophone converge on their simultaneous attack
at the end of the polyrhythm. This point is marked by a return to the orig
inal tempo of the movement in a coda that also brings back an echo of the
music that opened the music, in all three instruments.
* *
The preceding discussion of tem

quick overview, and is far from
that do not employ regular puls
est arises when one considers st
irregular groupings either with
These too can be rooted in emb
tion between these situations an
compositionally stimulating. Ho
and enjoyed which derives from
to each other by simple ratios,
useful way for thinking about su
Appendix: Movement II from Andrew Mead's Trio for

Violin, Alto Saxophone and Piano
ii
Variations ,
ppsempre
ppstmpn ?'
J-40
-l^ZZii__-_^?"'^^r^r';^^^_j_5=I
(fpsempre)
(^_= I ?|{_L__j^r r^tB irr15__3
j_?i 5Tft fr ^^^^n^^f-^z^'j^^^^zzz
*- ijm {^Xlf^ >.. - i - i

Pno(
i? ,__^__^_______v_>,
jjj'HijTrTP.___r?w_--
'f7friJ
jt =___ o'-tf^1
mfôcof mpi^^h^f^^
**- <p - _L ?=__:__ I - ^==m
*?< ??===== * * |_ *-/ ^?
benf
- |jJPl___[!~f SSlhl F^^Ti^T^^P^1
j^^TT^"^-~?
U ' 53+)
vh . ?- " I " ^
Pocof
?"" PP -'
flr?
182 _
b? " * pamtaiik : mp
? ' ' ~t_"__U
i [jTiffff iiTTirQiif '""
-?-==-?_=-- / k?-1 ^? ?==Z Jp~= J}i '?. ?.? ~
'- ^SOB, Mf?fl%
*iH^^-J_H iaE& '^
Aen/
(frr^=-U-??' II 'Jl f !tr 1
/ ____=_==- ^ mp f ___==_=
202 J-4S
-|lf I I I
(f__g
tr
L f? ^ ^ i i-"_,_____
^?~?*-' I-*?-1 ' * '
-ff^fififiiTiTiTii Tii'lHIH"!!!!!!!^.rfrftffrmrrrf**
"V=^ I |g|i_
Pno<
t * __j,i__ T ^ _.,_? _3-F
life j-?? j 1 f ;a ra
rtfcj - I f-^'j
_iJ__-_I sa._
- 3_^_TTaT7f==[j_T ^XSlS
~ p^p .rfm ii i.fV ? - [F- ^Tgr^ Pjp
J'Utl . ' Ai . I > j ?

hi
Presto, molo perpetuo
vh i^r f__ f f n~ - |= l_T ? I H ?lt
Pno/
(#mil !IJ"* ?=1- II ? II
1 pp
^_r^
* f?f _ i i-U ~~"= -=-??.-?
E~f^-^-n-=-?- i T * T
Notes
This paper was first delivered at the Society for Music Theory Nationa
Conference in Adanta, Georgia in 1999.1 am grateful to Ramon Satyendr
and Robert Morris for their thoughtful comments and suggestions.
1. See, for example, Berlioz's Romeo and Juliet, or Harold in Italy.
2. I, for one, have found in singing the sixth movement of the Brahm
Requiem that the most satisfying connection between the rapid \
passage and the final double fugue occurs when the tempo of the pr
ceding I bar becomes the half-note tactus of the following passage
The fact that the chord of resolution of the earlier passage is held fo
four bars, a tempo, further helps to establish the meter of the fugue.
3. The concept of compositional design is developed at length in Morri

(1987). Here, I am using it only in connection with issues of rhythm
but it may, of course, involve extensive dealings with pitch.
4. It is interesting to note the ways that this melody does not exactly
match the original pitch string, in particular with regard to the missing
high A, but those issues are beyond the scope of the current article.
5. I am indebted to Marion Guck for a discussion of this issue.
6. See also Bernard 1988 for a discussion of multiple tempi in Carter'

music of this period.
7. Uno (1996) develops a different approach for dealing with the tem
relations in this work, drawing on the work of David Lewin.
8. This somewhat easygoing approach differs in part from that o

Karlheinz Stockhausen, who in outlining his ideas conceptualizes th
equivalent of equal temperament in creating 12 equally spaced temp
based on the ratio of 1 to the 12th root of 2, but in certain pieces
(such as Gruppen) employs the simple ratios of the overtone series.
The approach I am advocating is perhaps less careful, based on the
imperfections of live performance, and taking advantage of the fac
that our memories for exact tempi are less striking than our ability to
recognize cleanly executed simple number ratios between temp
Clearly there are advantages to either approach, and no reason not t
pass smoothly from one to the other.
9. See Schiff (1983) for a discussion of the polyrhythm in Night Fantasies;

see Link (1994) for a technique for constructing these polyrhythm
and how they can be articulated. Link's approach differs from that out
lined above in his use of metronome markings as his point of depar
ture. While his results are accurate, I believe that my method (which is
not attached to the metronome) offers not only a simpler approach,
but one that may be applied over a wider range of conditions.
References
Bernard, Jonathan W. 1988. "The Evolution of Elliott Carter's Rhythmic

Practice." Perspectives of New Music 26, no. 2 (Summer): 164-203.
Boulez, Pierre. 1971. Boulez on Music Today. Translated by Susan

Bradshaw and Richard Rodney Bennett. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard
University Press.
Brower, Candace. 1993. "Memory and the Perception of Rhythm."

Music Theory Spectrum 15, no. 1 (Spring): 19-35.
Carter, Elliott. 1976. "Music and the Time Screen." In Current Thought
in Musicology. Edited by John Whitfield Grubbs. Austin: University of
Texas Press, 63-88. Reprinted in The Writings of Elliott Carter: An
American Composer Looks at Modern Music. Edited by Else Stone and
Kurt Stone. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1977, 343-65
and in Elliott Carter: Collected Essays and Lectures 1937-1995. Edited
by Jonathan Bernard. Rochester: University of Rochester Press, 1997,
262-80.
Cohn, Richard L. 1988. "Inversional Symmetry and Transpositional
Combination in Bartok." Music Theory Spectrum 10: 19?42.
Cooper, Grosvenor and Leonard B. Meyer. 1960. The Rhythmic Struc

ture of Music. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Cowell, Henry. 1930. New Musical Resources. New York: A.A. Knopf.
Epstein, David. 1995. Shaping Time: Music, the Brain and Performance.
New York: Schirmer Books.
Kramer, Jonathan D. 1988. The Time of Music: New Meanings, New Tem
poralities, New Listening Strategies. New York: Schirmer Books.
Lerdahl, Fred and Ray Jackendoff. 1983. A Generative Theory of Tonal

Music. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.
Lewin, David. 1987. Generalized Musical Intervals and Transformations.
New Haven: Yale University Press.
Link, John F. 1994. "Long-Range Polyrhythms in Elliott Carter's

Recent Music." Ph.D. diss., City University of New York.
Morris, Robert. 1987. Composition with Pitch-Classes: A Theory of Com

positional Design. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Schiff, David. 1983. The Music of Elliott Carter. London: Eulenberg Books.
Stockhausen, Karlheinz. 1957. ". . . how time passes . . ." Translated by

Cornelius Cardew. Die Reihe 3: 10-40.
-. 1962. "The Concept of Unity in Electronic Music." Perspectives

of New Music 1, no. 1 (Autumn): 39-48.
Uno, Yayoi. 1996. "The Tempo-Span GIS as a Measure of Continuity in

Elliott Carter's Eight Pieces for Four Timpani" Integral 10: 53-91.

Mead On Tempo Relations

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On Tempo Relations

Author(s): Andrew Mead

(J* = J1) Con slancio (l'istesso tempo)

>mj mi ^=^i: :^^^

EXAMPLE 1: BENJAMIN BRITTEN, TOUNG PERSON'S GUIDE TO THE

changes can be gradual or abrupt. A special class of tempo relation speci

This approach also allows us to consider tempo relationships without

Baritone Solo forui^pned f-y~l~lf-;~> _ ^_

EXAMPLE 2: BENJAMIN BRITTEN, WAR REQUIEM, DIES IRAE, MM. 468

. 2/5 4/3 2/3 5/4 3/2 3/5

EXAMPLE 3: TEMPO RATIOS

Simple ratios, of course, may be derived from the o

. P RT4/3IP T8/9IP RT10/9P T5/3P RT1/1P

wmj J J J IJ?-^J iJ U j i? jj 'j f j j ^ j~rJ i1 i r"' J u^j j

EXAMPLE 4: TEMPO STRING TRANSFORMATIONS

It is not hard to learn the different tempo intervals determined by a

4/3 (J>. = J) 5/6

percent seem negligible; my own threshold seems to be around the same

Beat Subdivision 8 _||?J J J J J J.JJ

Long Time; 1/16 16"

EXAMPLE 6: PERCEPTUAL CHANGES CO

An excellent example of how our experience of a musical event can be

Mvt. II: mm 383 - 389

Mvt. Ill: 1-12

j*ifn rynj.fTrn i' J J J^|H JT7.1 iiJT3r in r?l

EXAMPLE 7: TEMPO TRANSFORMATIONS IN ELGAR'S FIRST SYMPHONY,

ond movement (a scherzo) is a rapid scurrying passage of some fifty-plus

accomplished by the complete cycle of a muscle group: the tapping of a

_ "Qtated tempo resultant tempo_

rate of resultant metrical grouping

EXAMPLE 8: EMBEDDED TEMPOS AND METER

tempos determined by tempos of pulse-rates

J= 132 > = > J =

EXAMPLE 9: MULTIPLES AND SUBDIVISIONS OF PU

As Example 8 suggests, using pitch notation to indic

J_5 J = 93.3 3:4

J J> J =175 2:5 /L jL I

This catalogue reproduces the information found on

left represent the tactusof70bpm maintained by the a_^_

EXAMPLE 10a: TEMPI IN ELLIOTT CARTER'S STRING QUARTET NO. 2

EXAMPLE 10b: GENERAL CATALOGUE OF TEMPI IN ELLIO

The ease with which staff notation can reveal relations

?^?2-_-^ (-m?-, , 5_,

J = g4_ ,-r--, *-.1

EXAMPLE llA: ELLIOTT CARTER, STRING QUARTET NO. 3, MM. 117-27

Staff notation can also clarify features of complex passages involving

90bpm 72bpm 84bpm |112bpm j 84bpm

90bpm72bpm 84bpm 112bpm

EXAMPLE llB: BEAT AND SUBDIVISION TEMPI IN A POR

it is possible to gather a very quick and clear picture

EXAMPLE 12A: IANNIS XENAKIS, XASy MM. 89-93

EXAMPLE 12b: METER, BEATS, AND SUBDIVISIONS IN IANNIS XENAKIS'S XAS

EXAMPLE 13: TWO PASSAGES FROM ELLIOTT CARTER'S CANARIES

EXAMPLE 14: TEMPOS IN ELLIOTT CARTER'S "FANTASY" FROM EIGHT

EXAMPLE 15A: ANDREW MEAD, TRIO NO. 1, OPENING BARS

EXAMPLE 15b: ANDREW MEAD, TRIO NO. 1, CHANGE OF CONTEXT FOR

(J = 51)_ _(f) 0.-61) _

(J -51) ' ~L. (_tf_,

?. ) ,-3-* ??> P ^Pocof "P

EXAMPLE 15c: ANDREW MEAD, TRIO NO. 1, RETURN OF CELLO TEMPO

of which is notated in that meter and tempo. Example 15d is a chart of

Violin (fc n- Violin S="

(&? > {if

11 _ 8/7 I--1 I--?-9-1 I-7-1-7-1

(^_= I ?|{_Lj^r r^tB irr153

**- <p - _L ?=: I - ^==m

?< ??===== * |_ *-/ ^?

^?~?-' I-?-1 ' * '