Year 11 - Music
Other rhythmic concepts
Understanding metre, rhythm, dynamics and articulation
Study Hub
Study Guides
This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
No unit description is available for this selection yet.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to identify key rhythmic concepts, including anacrusis, polyrhythm, cross rhythms and hemiolas.
Key Notes
- Many melodies use an anacrusis to start before beat one (the downbeat).
- Polyrhythms include multiple rhythms that aren't closely related playing together, creating a complex rhythmic texture.
- Cross rhythms create the feeling of different pulses playing simultaneously.
- A hemiola is used to create a brief effect of the pulse changing (by playing three notes over two beats or vice versa).
- Diminution and augmentation develop rhythmic ideas by proportionally shortening or lengthening notes.
Vocabulary To Learn
- downbeat: the first beat of a bar, which is usually emphasised
- anacrusis: a melody that begins before the downbeat
- polyrhythm: multiple different rhythms playing at the same time
- cross rhythm: a polyrhythm in which two or more of the rhythms 'conflict' and feel like they have a different pulse
- hemiola: when three notes are played over the duration of two or vice versa, creating the feeling of tempo change
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Polyrhythm and cross rhythm are the same thing.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the lesson in two key points.
Many melodies use an anacrusis to start before beat one (the downbeat). Polyrhythms include multiple rhythms that aren't closely related playing together, creating a complex rhythmic texture.
2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'downbeat'
the first beat of a bar, which is usually emphasised.
3. Correct this common mistake.
Mistake: Polyrhythm and cross rhythm are the same thing. Correction: They are related, but not the same. A polyrhythm doesn't necessarily have to create different senses of pulse - it can just have different rhythms playing together. A cross rhythm has to create different senses of pulse at the same time.
More Lessons In This Unit
Browse all guides in the Year 11 Music guide library.