DURATION In music the concept of Duration refers to the arrangement of sounds in relation to time.

The time may be divided into beats, or may be undivided and continual. If you can tap your feet or nod your head to the music, it is because the time has been divided into beats. A beat is a division of time used as a basis for the music an underlying pulse. If you cannot hear or feel a beat and thus cannot tap along to the music, it is because there are no beats to tap along to. The time has not been divided so the music is said to be in free time. When pointing out the speed of the beat you are referring to its tempo. It could feel relatively slow, medium or fast. Tempo changes affect the musics mood. Speeding up can make the music feel more exciting and slowing down makes it more relaxed. If the tempo stays the same, it is said to be steady. In music, beats usually occur in patterns defined by accents. When the beats accents are in regular pattern of 2, the music is in Duple metre: This can be shown with a time signature of 2/4 and bar lines every 2 beats: When the beats accents are in regular patterns of 3, the music is in Triple metre: This can be shown with a time signature of 3/4 and bar lines every 3 beats: When the accents are in regular patterns of 4, the music is in Quadruple metre:

This can be shown with a time signature of 4/4 and bar lines every 4 beats: Metre is therefore the pattern of the beats accents.

The rhythm (the organisation of the sounds and silences) may be made up of long notes or short notes or combinations of both. Short notes (notes smaller than the beat) make the rhythm feel busy. Long notes (notes larger than the beat) make the rhythm of the music feel calm. When a rhythm is repeated a number of times (making a predictable pattern), it is called a rhythmic ostinato.

CONCEPT QUIZ Duration Q1 Which part of the music does the concept Duration refer to? Q2 How can you tell if the music is divided into beats? Q3 How is the timing of music described if it is not divided into beats? Q4 What is a beat? Q5 What is meant by the tempo of the music? Q6 How does changing the tempo affect the music? Q7 What does the term metre refer to? Q8 Explain triple metre. Q9 What is meant by the term rhythm? Q10 What effect does the length of notes have on music? Q11 What is a rhythmic ostinato?

DURATION AND APE-SUGAR Listen to APE-SUGAR and answer the questions below DURATION Q1 This music is: a) based on a beat foundation b) in free time Answer: Q2 The tempo of the music is: a) relatively fast b) relatively slow Answer: Q3 The tempo: a) gets faster b) gets slower c) remains steady Answer: Q4 Much music is written with 4 beats in every bar and a time signature of 4/4. Some pieces have 3 beats in every bar with a time signature of 3/4. The time signature for this piece is mainly: a) 2/4 b) 3/4 c) 4/4 d) 5/4 Answer:

Q5 The drummer mainly plays rhythms with: a) long notes which make the music feel inactive and calm b) short notes which make the music feel active and busy Answer: Q6 True or False? The drummer makes use of the effect known as a rhythmic ostinato. Answer: