A 30-Minute Rhythm Deep Dive: Meter, Tempo, Note Values and Polyrhythms

Rhythm can be understood at a macro level (meter, tempo and time feel for a whole song or section) and a micro level (beats, sub-beats, note values, rests and accents), with contrast such as strong versus weak beats and notes versus rests as its main goal.

Video lesson by Jason Zac · Intermediate · 34 min

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This lesson by Jason Zac of Nathaniel School of Music is a complete tour of how rhythm is built. It suits any musician who wants to genuinely understand rhythm, whether you play songs, improvise, compose, read sheet music or work in recording software. Some terms are official notation terms; others are informal words musicians use when they jam together.

Macro and micro: two ways to look at rhythm

The macro view covers a whole song or section: the meter (time signature), the tempo and the time feel. The micro view goes inside the music: beats, sub-beats, note values and rests. Pitch is a separate topic; here the focus is purely on timing and duration.

Contrast is the goal

Just as harmony moves between tension and resolution, rhythm thrives on contrast: strong versus weak beats, notes versus rests, loud versus soft, and long versus short.

Meter, pulse and tempo

The numerator of a time signature is the number of beats per bar (or cycle, or phrase). It can be any whole number from one upwards; four is most common, and three gives a waltz feel. The meter sets up the pulse, the steady movement your head or body follows beneath all the notes. Music also moves in cycles, such as a phrase that repeats every four head movements.

Tempo is the speed of the pulse, measured with a metronome in beats per minute. Around 120 is allegro, 90 is moderato and 60, the speed of a clock ticking, is adagio. You can keep the metronome steady and play at double or half the rate.

The denominator

The bottom number tells you which note value gets the beat, and it is always a power of two: 2 means minims, 4 means crotchets, 8 means quavers. In 7/4, as in Money by Pink Floyd, your head moves seven times per cycle. In 7/8, seven quavers go by too fast to nod to each, so your head follows accent groupings such as 3+4 or 4+3 instead.

Note values, dots, ties and tuplets

• Semibreve (whole note): four counts.
• Dotted minim: three counts.
• Minim (half note): two counts.
• Crotchet (quarter note): one count, the pulse level.

A dot adds half the note's value: a minim (2) becomes 3, a crotchet (1) becomes 1.5. A tie joins two notes into one sound, so a semibreve tied to a minim lasts six beats; ties also carry notes across bar lines. Tuplets squeeze notes into a space, such as three quaver triplets in one crotchet, or crotchet and minim triplets.

Beat division and multiplication

Dividing the crotchet gives two quavers, three triplets or four semiquavers (counted 1 e and a). Rests let you leave out any sub-beat. Notes longer than the beat are what the lesson calls beat multiplication. Generally the main beats are strong and the off-beats weak; within a bar of four, 1 and 3 are usually strong and 2 and 4 weak.

Time feels

The three feels are straight, swing and triplet. Swing can be thought of as a triplet with the middle note left out, or as straight quavers with the off-beat pushed later by as much as the song needs. Semiquavers can also be swung.

Rhythmic devices and accent groupings

A rhythmic device is a short, often one-beat motif made by choosing which sub-beats to play and which to rest. Combining devices builds phrases. Grouping changes feel too: 6/8 is two groups of three, while 3/4 is three groups of two. Semiquavers in 4/4 can be accented 3+3+2, or 3+3+3+3+4 across the bar, while the pulse stays the same.

Polyrhythm and polymeter

In this lesson a polyrhythm superimposes groupings, such as four over three between the hands. Polymeter changes meter bar by bar or section by section, such as 7 then 8. Tempo can also change, and drums can go half time or double time.

How to practise

1. Nod your head to a metronome at 60, 90 and 120.
2. Count each note value and dotted value aloud.
3. Play one beat divided by three, leaving out different sub-beats.
4. Keep the pulse in your left hand while accenting semiquavers 3+3+2.

Questions about this lesson

What is the difference between 7/4 and 7/8?

In 7/4 your head moves seven times per cycle, one per crotchet beat. In 7/8 the seven quavers are too fast to nod to, so you feel them in accent groupings such as 3+4 or 4+3.

How is 6/8 different from 3/4?

Both can contain six quavers, but 6/8 is felt as two groups of three with accents on 1 and 4, while 3/4 is three groups of two.

What does a dot do to a note?

A dot extends the note by half its value, so a dotted minim lasts three counts and a dotted crotchet lasts one and a half.

What is swing feel?

Swing can be understood as a triplet with the middle note left out, or as straight quavers with the off-beat delayed; the amount of swing is felt from the song and its groove.

Practise it

• Rhythm TeacherBuild accent patterns, divide beats and explore odd metres and polyrhythms.
• Groove MetronomeWork with tempo, accents and polyrhythms instead of a single unchanging click.
• All free music apps40 practice tools for harmony, rhythm, ear training and more.

Related lessons

• 5 Methods to Use and Feel Triplets in All Forms of MusicA triplet divides a beat into three equal parts, and you can learn to feel it naturally by practising triplet rhythmic devices, 3-over-2 polyrhythms, compound time such as 6/8 and 12/8, accented sets of three, and swing.
• Compose Music Starting From Rhythm: Accents, Time Signatures and Beat DivisionYou can compose music by starting with rhythm instead of melody or chords, using three seeds: accent groupings (such as 3+3+2 over eight beats), metric or time signature changes (such as 9/8 felt as four beats plus a quaver), and beat divisions (such as quavers, quavers, triplet, semiquavers across four beats).
• Fix Your Timing: Build a Rock-Solid Sense of Rhythm on Piano (Part 1)To build solid timing, first feel a steady pulse with your body (such as a head movement), use breathing in and out to change volume without rushing or dragging, then count how many beats make up each repeating cycle to find the meter, splitting odd meters like 5 and 7 into smaller groups of 2, 3 and 4.
• Proven Ways to Instantly Improve Your Rhythm (Piano and Any Instrument)To improve your rhythm, move your body to the pulse, know how each beat is subdivided, imagine a ghost drummer, sing the melody as you play, save the metronome for checking your timing at slow settings, use notation and rhythmic patterns, and play regularly with other musicians.