---
title: Rhythm & Meter
category: Fundamentals
slug: rhythm-and-meter
related: [notes-and-pitch, scales]
url: https://fourthshub.com/docs/rhythm-and-meter
---

# Rhythm & Meter

Rhythm is the organization of music in time. While pitch determines *what* notes you play, rhythm determines *when* and *for how long*.

## Beat and Tempo

The **beat** is the basic pulse of music. **Tempo** measures beats per minute (BPM). A ballad might be 60 BPM (one beat per second), a fast bebop tune 300+ BPM. Tempo profoundly shapes feel: the same notes at different tempos become different music.

## Note Values

**Whole note**: 4 beats. **Half note**: 2 beats. **Quarter note**: 1 beat (the standard "beat" in 4/4 time). **Eighth note**: 1/2 beat. **Sixteenth note**: 1/4 beat. **Triplets** divide a beat into three equal parts.

Dots add half the note's value: a dotted half note = 3 beats. Ties connect two notes of any value into one sustained sound.

## Time Signatures

A time signature tells you how beats are grouped. The top number is how many beats per measure; the bottom number indicates which note value gets one beat.

- **4/4** (common time): Four quarter-note beats per measure. The vast majority of popular music.
- **3/4** (waltz time): Three quarter-note beats. Waltzes, some ballads.
- **6/8**: Six eighth-note beats, felt as two groups of three. Afro-Cuban music, many ballads.
- **5/4**: Five beats. Brubeck's "Take Five," Radiohead's "15 Step."
- **7/8**: Seven eighth notes, often grouped 2+2+3 or 3+2+2.

## Swing vs. Straight

In **straight** eighth notes, each eighth note is exactly half a beat. In **swing**, the beat is divided unevenly: the first eighth is longer (~2/3 of the beat), the second is shorter (~1/3). This is the rhythmic foundation of jazz. The exact ratio varies by tempo and style: fast tempos swing less, medium tempos swing hard.

## Syncopation

**Syncopation** places accents on weak beats or between beats. Jazz comping, funk rhythms, and Latin music all depend heavily on syncopation. It creates forward motion and rhythmic interest by defying the expected pulse pattern.

## Rhythmic Subdivision and Feel

As a player, your ability to subdivide the beat accurately is as important as your pitch vocabulary. Practicing with a metronome on beats 2 and 4 (rather than 1 and 3) develops jazz time feel. Placing the metronome on the "and" of each beat develops advanced subdivision awareness.