Get Your Groove On: Beat Basics

Whether you want to pick up a new musical instrument, impress your date with some serious dance moves, or simply clap in time, learning about rhythm will give you the tools you need to get your groove on and make some serious music.

To understand rhythm, you first have to understand the beat. The beat is the glue that holds the orchestra together during a symphony, gives a heartfelt pulse to the the hip hop artist’s rap, and keeps the marching band in perfect unison with a pulsing right-left-right-left.

Hold your hand to your chest and feel the steady rhythm of your heart beat. The constant pulse gives life-giving oxygen to your body in the same way that the beat  keeps the music exciting and alive.

Count how many times your heart beats per minute. The number of times your heart beats each minute is called the tempo. Tempo refers to the overall speed of music. For example, if your heart beats seventy times per minute, then the tempo of your heart has a relatively slow musical tempo of seventy bpm (beats per minute). During a workout, your heart may beat 140 times per minute, a very quick tempo.

In sheet music, songwriters and composers use terms like moderato and allegro to describe moderate and fast tempos, respectively. If you are reading music for the first time, you may encounter other terms like adagio or vivace.
Click to read the rest…