User:Stevenarntson/time signatures

In this short workshop, we'll define a few terms, and move forward to discuss some observations about rhythmic music, focusing on meter as it is codified by musical time signatures.

Terms

 * Rhythm: An organized series of sounds in time, often repeating.
 * Pulse and tempo: An underlying velocity upon which many rhythms are built.
 * Metrical Hierarchy: Not all pulses are created equal. (heartbeat vs. clock tick)
 * Downbeat: A pulse of greatest emphasis.
 * Meter: A repeating pulse group with a standard metrical hierarchy.
 * Time signature: A scheme for transcribing a meter.

Music Literacy

 * Simple rhythmic notation
 * Rhythmic syllables: ta, ti-ti, and ti-ka-ti-ka

Examples

 * Eartha Kitt's "The Day that the Circus Left Town"
 * Orkestar Zirkonium's "Heavy the Foreign Land"
 * Dave Brubeck's "Take Five"
 * Tito Puente's "Take Five"

Exercises

 * 1) Creating a rhythm over a chosen meter
 * 2) Creating a polyrhythm