Rhythm 

​Webster:  a strong, regular, repeated pattern of movement or sound.
OR
Easy Terms :  Repetitive/Consistant Patterns In Time

​Repetitive / Consistant implies that it is PREDICTABLE - I.E. you know/can FEEL when to tap you foot/bob your head before it actually happens!! 

• We can hear that there are Long and Short notes , not just one or the other
• We can see in the NOTATION that there are different types of notes
• We can Immediately FEEL the rhythm, and a steady beat , to the point where we can tap our foot / snap our fingers / bob our heads
• In popular music the rhythm is generally provided most obviously by a drum groove - most commonly played by drums, sometimes electronic drum set 

Rhythm As a Concept...

This (like Harmony) is a term/concept we take from real life

Think of how many repeated patterns in time we have in our life:
Sleep Schedule.....
Eating/Dietary......
Work Schedule......

The SEASONS are on a repeated Pattern in Time

Physical Movements:
Running -  Consistant Pattern 
Heartbeat.....
Walking....
Chewing....
Talking....

Not only are these present in our life, but we see the theme of
Consistency and Familiarity because we generally 
like the Rhythm ( repetitive patterns in time) at a 
Consistant/Constant Speed

Heartbeat...
Walking...
Chewing ...
Talking...

and FURTHER, if there is a change  or inconsistency in speed with these physical movements,  that can represent a certain EMOTION

DRUMS / DRUM GROOVES

Instrumentation :   Most commonly, The Rhythm is provided by Drums / Percussion
    Drum Set   Snare Drum    Cymbals   Latin Percussion                  

The Drums provide Rhythm  By Playing a steady and consistent sequence of notes known as a Groove: 

Sometimes today we refer to the groove as ' the beat ' - this however is incorrect usage of the word beat. 

Drum Groove Examples

Hip Hop
You Got Me - Roots         Hip Hop Groove (Funky Drummer)           Drum Groove              QuestLove 


Jazz / Swing
              Swing Groove                Jazz Solo - Original           Jazz Solo - Complex

Characteristics of Rhythm:

Characteristics of Rhythm:  Duration/Note Length,  OBVIOUS -----Vs.----- OBSCURE

Rhythm is Delivered - I.E. how we hear it - in many different ways depending on Genre, Instrumentation, and Style etc.

 Different Examples of Rhythm Delivery : 

Drum Set in a Rock Band
A Synthesized Beat in  a Modern EDM Song
 Pulsing strings in a String Quartet (52:00)
 beatboxing in an A Capella Ensemble

Notice how no matter what the style is, or what the instrumentation is made up of 

we can always Feel the Rhythm Some-how 
(feel the rhythm = can you move to it (tap your foot etc)

Questions: 

In Which one of the examples was the Rhythm Most Obvious
Why? 

​In Which on of the Examples was the Rhythm Least Obvious? 
Why?

No matter :
How Fast, 
How Obvious, 
What is providing it, 

​We Can Always feel it !!!

​So, Given that it is Always There, we want to examine it's Characteristics

Delivery: 
What is it being Provided By
How is it being Provided

RHYTHM SPECTRUMS

Obvious -------------------------VS-------------------------------Obscure
What sort of Characteristics Make rhythm more Obvious? 

Simple  -------------------------VS-------------------------------Complex 
​What sort of Characteristics might make a rhythm more complex?

Styles of Delivery

Video #1
How does this apply to modern pop music:
 
Try to apply some of those concepts to this modern pop song

Questions About Rhythm in A Specific Song
How Is the Rhythm being Implied?
What is the rhythm being Implied/Provided by? 
Is it VERY obvious, or NOT VERY obvious?  
How is this effected by note length/duration?
How could he imply differently?
What sounds best

 Video #2
What if we were to add drums to that track? 

Questions About Rhythm in A Specific Song
How Is the Rhythm being Implied?
What is the rhythm being Implied/Provided by? 
Is it VERY obvious, or NOT VERY obvious?  
How is this effected by note length/duration?
How could he imply differently?
Optional: 
What sounds best?

Video #3
Daphnis and Chloe
 
-Beginning is void of any real obvious rhythm
-Mostly Stagnant notes, or instruments playing long notes s
            -this creates that spacey feeling, we are waiting for something to ground us
-Feel the CONTRAST when finally we get some more explicit rhythm at 0:40 in the strings
-They use the lack of rhythm to build to a climax
-by 2:30/3:00 we have a solid rhythm (i.e. can tap our foot)
 
 

Video #4
Now Contrast that with this "Staccato Hora"

-Immediately we have something to tap our foot to
-makes us want to move much more
-the rhythm is explicitly outlined in the music by shorter notes all over the orchestra
 


MORE NOTES = MORE INFORMATION
(In the case, Rhythmic Information)
 
Depending on the note lengths that the different instruments are playing, we can alter how the rhythm is implied
​

Rhythm Homework:

For the Song Combos:   in which song do you think the rhythm is most explicit / obvious & why did you think that? 

****Note*** A complete answer must have a decision as to which song was more explicit, AND the explanation.  Was it a result of - Style? Instrumentation? Volume of the Rhythm Instrument? ETC

Example:

Combo:  Video #3  VS.  Video #4 (Above)

I think the rhythm in Video 4 was more explicit because of instrumentation, specifically the addition of drums and a rock drum groove

Combo 1 : 
Michael Jackson - Billie Jean     VS.     Bob Dylan - Lay Lady Lay


Combo 2. :
Neil Young - The Needle and the Damage Done   VS.     ACDC  Highway to Hell


Combo 3 :
Miles Davis - So What    Vs.     Daft Punk - Something about us