Rhythmic Issues and Notation Devices

 How can we connect old and new methods of time/meter signature notation?
 What is the relationship of notation to sound?
 Why is it helpful to notate beams, rests, and ties in such a way as to emphasize the
foundational beat?
 What types of rhythms are designed to obscure the steady beat and how are they
notated?
 What if a beat needs to be divided in a way that is unusual? Are there some
standardizations?
 How do stems and beams help clarify rhythm?
 Page 32 chart of beat type and meter type
 BEAT TYPE
 Music moves in 2’s or 3’s
 Time Perfect = music in 3’s
 Time Imperfect = music in 2’s
 Simple /Compound
 These determine whether the beat type is divided by two or three
 Prolation Perfect = compound (beats are divided by 3)
 Prolation Imperfect = simple (beats are divided by 2)
 Spacing matters!
 How notation is organized matters! E.g., ties v. dots, beams v. flags
 Music beaming, flags, note values should match the time signature
 Beat and Meter can be determined by listening
 Time Signature needs to be determined by the notation itself
 Look at chart p. 32 bottom
 Note that a time signature CAN have a one on the bottom for a whole note as the beat
 Simple beat durations on the bottom are divisible by 2
 Compound beat durations on the bottom are divisible by 3
 No time signature would be confusing here.
Are there dots? Consistent space between
dotted quarter and the eighths?
Sometimes bar lines go all the way through,
sometimes not. All notes appear
nearly equidistant.

Compared to the clarity here:

Even without a time signature, a
musician could figure 6/8.
Consistency in spacing and note
head size.

One improvement might be to

narrow the space of the group of 3
8ths to match the space of a dotted
*
quarter.
 How do these affect the readability of music and help to match the sound?
 Avoid more than 6 notes by beams unless they are all in one beat.
 Group beats together with beams.

 Avoid mixing flags and beams

The WHOLE REST can be used to indicate a full measure of rest in any meter.
Avoid half rests in ¾, use 2 quarter rests instead.

Dots above the line unless in two-voice instances.

Stems on ledger line notes should extend to the middle line.

Notice the number of irregular notes is included, e.g., 3, 5
 Notate and perform rhythms that obscure the metric accent
 Stress weak beats
 Newer notation will mix meters

 Dynamics are place below the staff not IN the staff