Duration

What is duration?

Duration refers to the lengths of sounds and silences.

Music is a temporal art form, meaning that it occurs over time. An understanding and mastery of duration, including metre, rhythm and feel is important for all musical contexts including performance, composition, and musicological analysis.

There are many aspects of musical duration, including:

Tempo (the speed or pace of a piece of music)
Metre (the grouping of beats into larger structures)
Beat (the strong and weak pulses within a metric pattern)
Note values (the use of notes and rests of specific durational values)
Rhythms (the combinations and patterns of notes and rests)
Specific rhythm names (common rhythms that have a specific name)
Feel (both subtle and overt ways in which beats and rhythms are interpreted)
Compositional devices that relate to duration
Expressive techniques that relate to duration

Word cloud derived from the sample answers of duration questions from past HSC examinations

Answering a duration question

A basic HSC response may discuss superficial elements of note lengths and tempo (e.g. "There is a combination of minims, crotchets, quavers, crotchet rests, and quaver rests used at a fast tempo"). To showcase a deeper understanding of duration, you can identify:

Any rhythmic motifs, ostinatos, or frequently used rhythms that are used in the excerpt (use rhythmic notation to support your answer)
Tempo and tempo changes, referring to the notated terms on the page
Metre (particularly if there are any interesting metric changes or unorthodox metres)
The use of rhythmic devices such as syncopation, polyrhythms, etc.
Any other unusual, unique or interesting duration features

Tempo and tempo changes

Additional Italian musical terms can be viewed on Musicca

Tempo

Beats per minute (BPM) - A mathematical indication of tempo based on the number of beats that occur in one minute (e.g., 60 BPM means one beat occurs every second, 120 BPM is twice as fast with two beats occurring every second).
Metronome marking (MM) - A tempo marking that indicates a note value and its corresponding BPM (e.g., "♩= 120" means 120 crotchet beats every minute).

Italian tempo terms

Slow

Grave - Very slow and solemn
Largo - Slow and broad
Lento - Slowly
Adagio - Slow and stately

Medium

Andante - At a walking pace
Moderato - At a moderate speed
Allegretto - Moderately fast

Fast

Allegro - Fast
Vivace - Fast and lively
Presto - Very fast
Prestissimo - Extremely fast

Other terms

Assai - Very
Con moto - With movement
Molto - Much, a lot
Maestoso - Majestically
Animato - Animated
Rubato - Playing with rhythmic freedom and expressiveness

Non-Italian tempo terms

French

Lent - Slowly
Modéré – At a moderate tempo
Vif – Lively
Vite – Fast
Rapide – Rapidly
Au mouvement – Return to the first/main tempo
Moins – Less
Très – Very

German

Langsam – Slowly
Mäßig – Moderately
Schnell – Fast
Lebhaft – Lively
Rasch – Quickly
Bewegt – Animated, with motion
Kräftig – Vigorous or powerful

English

Tempo and feel is sometimes indicated with English terms. This may include a description of the style such as "Fast rock" or "Medium ballad".

Tempo changes

Accelerando - Gradually getting faster
Rallentando (or ritardando) - Gradually getting slower
Ritenuto - Immediately slower
A tempo (or tempo primo) - Return to original speed
Meno mosso - Slower, less rapidly
Più mosso - Quicker, more movement
Stringendo - With increasing speed

Additional information about Italian terms can be found on this Musicca website: https://www.musicca.com/musical-terms

Metre

Beat
Bar (or measure) - A grouping of beats, usually based on the time signature.
Time signature - An indication of how many note values of a particular type fit into each bar.
- - Simple time - Each beat is subdivided into two
    - - Simple duple (2/4, 2/2)
      - Simple triple (3/4, 3/8)
      - Simple quadruple (4/4)
  - Compound time - Each beat is subdivided into three
    - - Compound duple (6/8)
      - Compound triple (9/8)
      - Compound quadruple (12/8)
  - Common time (4/4)
  - Cut common time (or alla breve) (2/2)
  - Complex time signature (or irregular metre, or odd metre) - Metres that don't fit into the usual simple time or compound time categories, and usually use a combination of simple and compound beats (e.g., 5/4, 7/8).
  - Additive metre
  - Mixed metre - Changing time signatures within a piece of music, for example changing between 3/4 and 6/8.
  - Irrational metre - Time signature in which the bottom number is not a power of two (e.g. 4/3, 6/10).
  - Polymetre - Two (or more) different metres occuring simultaneously. The metres all share an underlying pulse/rhythmic subdivision.
  - Free time - When a piece of music has no discernable beat. Often indicated with the absence of a time signature, and/or a large X writen where the time signature usually is, and/or the written instruction "free time" above the stave.

Beat

Downbeat - The first beat of a bar.
Upbeat - The last beat of a bar (e.g. the fourth beat in 4/4 time).
Anacrusis (or pickup) - A shortened bar at the beginning of a piece in which a note, or series of notes, precede the first downbeat of the piece.
On beat - In 4/4 time, beats 1 and 3 are considered the "on beats".
Off beat - In 4/4 time, beats 2 and 4 are considered the "off beats". Subdivisions, such as quavers between the main beats, can also be considered "off beats".
Backbeat - Accenting the off beat (generally beats 2 and 4 in 4/4 time). Backbeats are a significant feature of rock and pop music and are generally played on a snare drum and/or with hand claps.

Notes and rests

Semibreve (or whole note)
Minim (or half note)
Crotchet (or quarter note)
Quaver (or eighth note)
Semiquaver (or sixteenth note)
Rests (e.g. crotchet rest)
Dotted notes (e.g. dotted minim) - One dot extends a note by 50% of its original value (e.g. a crotchet = 1 beat; a dotted crotchet = 1.5 beats)
Tuplets (triplets, quadruplets, etc)
Ties
Feathered beams
Nested tuplets

Exam tip!

Rather than describing rhythms with words (e.g. "Mozart uses a combination of minims, crotchets, dotted minims, and quavers"), try notating the main rhythmic patterns with notation.

Specific rhythm names

Tresillo
Clave (3-2 or 2-3)
- - Son clave
  - Rhumba clave
Shuffle
Swing
Gallop
Scotch snaps
Bossa nova rhythm
Habanera rhythm
The Charleston
Waltz
Aksak
Skank
Jersey Club kick drum pattern

Feel

Four to the floor
Half-time
Double-time
On the beat
Laid back
Syncopation
Straight
Shuffle
Swing
Lilting
Groove
Microtiming
The Dilla Feel

Compositional devices that relate to duration

Syncopation - Emphasising off-beat notes, contrasting against the steady pulse of the metre.
- Anticipation/pushed rhythm
Polyrhythm - The combination of contrasting rhythms that would not ordinarily be perceived as deriving from one another (e.g. 2:3, 3:4, 3:5, 7:11, etc.).
Hemiola - Specific type of polyrhythm/rhythmic relationship based on the ratio of 2:3.
Cross-rhythm - When a polyrhythm is the basis of an entire piece of music.
Rhythmic diminution - Repeating a melodic or rhythmic phrase or rhythm and halving the original note values. The effect is a repetition that is twice as fast as the original.
Rhythmic augmentation - Repeating a melodic or rhythmic phrase and doubling the original note values. The effect is a repetition that is half the speed of the original.
Ostinato (or riff) - A repeated melody, bassline, accompaniment pattern, or rhythm.
Additive rhythm
Mixed metre - Changing time signatures within a piece of music, for example changing between 3/4 and 6/8.
Repetition - Repeating an idea or part of an idea.
Phase shifting
Half-time
Double-time
Rhythmic drive
Rhythmic unison
Rhythmic busyness
Rhythmic stability
Rhythmic displacement
Metric modulation

Expressive techniques that relate to duration

Tremolo
Fermata (or pause)
Caesura

Less common notes

Mensural notation – Notation system used in Europe from the late 13th century to c. 1600. This evolved into modern notation.
Maxima (or octuple whole note)
Longa (or quadruple whole note)
Breve (or double whole note)
Demisemiquaver (or thirty-second note)
Hemidemisemiquaver (or sixty-fourth note)
Semihemidemisemiquaver (or hundred twenty-eighth note)
Demisemihemidemisemiquaver (or two hundred fifty-sixth note)
Double dotted notes - Two dots extend a note by 75% of its original value
Triple dotted notes - Three dots extend a note by 87.5% of its original value

Non-Western

Tala (ताळ) (Indian) - Counting of a measure/bar in Indian classical music. The measure is typically established by hand clapping, waving, touching fingers on thigh or the other hand, verbally, striking of small cymbals, or a percussion instrument in the Indian subcontinental traditions.
- - Teental (तीन ताल) (North Indian/Hindustani) - The most common tala used in Hindustani music. It consists of 16 beats with a 4/4/4/4 pattern.
  - Adi tala (South Indian/Carnatic) - The most common tala used in Carnatic music. It consists of 8 beats with a 4/2/2 pattern.
Gatra (Javanese) - Gatra may be considered analogous to a bar in Western music. It consists of a sequence of four beats (keteg). The second and fourth beats are generally stronger than the first and third, with the final beat being the strongest.
Kotekan (Balinese) - Fast, interlocking parts in Balinese Gamelan music.
Usul (Turkish/Ottoman)
Wazn (وزن ) (Arabic) - Equivalent to a measure/bar
Iqa' (إيقاع ) (Arabic) - Rhythmic pattern/mode

Electronic music

The grid - A visual representation of bars, beats, and subdivisions in a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW).
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) - Technical standard used to record, input, edit, and play back digital musical information. MIDI allows electronic musical instruments (such as synthesisers), computers, and other MIDI-compatible devices to "communicate" with one another. A MIDI event will includes information about the pitch, timing, and velocity of a note. Additional information may be included.
Quantisation - Automatic correction of timing so that notes align perfectly with the grid.
Humanisation - Slight variation of timing (moving notes off the grid) to make music sound more natural.
Delay - Electronic effect that records a sound and plays it back after a short time, creating an echo. A delay effect can create one or more copies and the repeat time can be adjusted.
Beat repeat
Offset
Nudge - Adjusting the timing of MIDI notes (or audio clips) in very small increments by moving them left (earlier) or right (later) on the grid.
Groove template
Beatmatch - To synchronise the tempo and beats of one track with another. This allows DJs to seamlessly mix between two different tracks.
Clock signal - Timing signal that keeps electronic music equipment (e.g. sequencers, synthesisers, digital effects, etc.) synchronised.
Looping
Latency - An unwanted timing delay when recording or using a DAW between playing something and hearing it back through headphones/speakers. A latency of less than 15 milliseconds is generally unnoticeable, however any more than 15ms becomes distracting and may affect the performance of the musician.
Metronome (or click) - Regular click, bleep, or other short sound that assists musicians with their timing when recording in a DAW.
Tap tempo - Setting the BPM of a track by clicking or tapping a regular pulse using the mouse, keypad, or keys.
Warp - The process of time-stretching an audio file without affecting the pitch. This can be used to change the speed, rhythm, or groove of an audio file.
Sample rate - In digital audio recording, the number of times per second that the value of an audio signal is recorded. Common sample rates include 44,100 Hz (44.1 kHz) and 48,000 Hz (48 kHz).
Swing percentage - Mathematical expression of how much swing is applied to quavers (or semiquavers) in a DAW. A straight rhythm is expressed as 50%, where all on beats are the same length as off beats (50:50 or 1:1). However, as swing percentage increases, the on beats become longer and the off beats become shorter. For example, 66% is "triplet swing" as on beats are twice as long as the off beats (66:33 or 2:1).

Scientific terms

Entrainment
Isochronal (and non-isochronal)
Interonset interval

Duration

Printable version

A printable version of this vocabulary list is available to download. It does not include descriptions and definitions in the interest of both space and formatting, and as a means to promote academic inquiry. Students may use this as a word bank to test their understanding of duration vocabulary and/or to pique interest in words that they do not yet know.

Page updated

Report abuse