What is Rhythm?

Rhythm is the (repetitive) timing framework of music. When you read about
rhythm (see Whiteside), it often seems like a mysterious aspect of music that
only "inborn talent" can express. Or perhaps you need to practice it all your
life, like drummers. Most frequently, however, correct rhythm is simply a
matter of accurate counting, of correctly reading the music, especially the
time signatures. This is not as easy as it sounds; difficulties often arise
because most indications for rhythm are not explicitly spelled out everywhere
on the music score since it is part of things like the time signature that
appears only once at the beginning (there are too many such "things" to be
listed here, such as the difference between a waltz and a mazurka; another
example: without looking at the music, some would think that the beat in the
"happy birthday" song is on "happy", but it is actually on "birth"; this song is
a waltz). In many instances, the music is created mainly by manipulating
these rhythmic variations so that rhythm is one of the most important
elements of music. In short, most rhythmic difficulties arise from not reading
the music correctly. This often happens when you try to read the music HT;
there is just too much information for the brain to process and it can't be
bothered with rhythm, especially if the music involves new technical skills.
That initial reading mistake then becomes incorporated into the final music
from repeated practice.

Definition of Rhythm: Rhythm consists of 2 parts: timing and accents, and

they come in 2 forms, formal and logical. The mysteries surrounding rhythm
and the difficulties encountered in defining rhythm arise mainly from the
"logical" part, which is at once the key element and the most elusive. So let's
tackle the simpler formal rhythms first. Just because they are simpler does
not mean that they aren't important; too many students make mistakes with
these elements which generally renders the music unrecognizable in terms of
what it should sound like.

Formal Timing: The formal timing rhythm is given by the Time Signature, and
is indicated at the very beginning of the music score. The major time
signatures are waltz (3/4), common time (4/4), "cut time" (2/2, also alla
breve), and 2/4. The waltz has 3 beats per bar (measure), etc.; the number of
beats per bar is indicated by the numerator. 4/4 is the most common and is
often not even indicated, although it should be indicated by a "C" at the
beginning (you can remember it as "C stands for common"). Cut time is

indicated by the same "C", but with a vertical line down the center (cuts the
"C" in half). The reference note is indicated by the denominator, so that the
3/4 waltz has 3 quarter-notes per bar, and 2/4 is, in principle, twice as fast as
2/2 cut time. The meter is the number of beats in a measure, and almost
every meter is constructed from duples or triples, although exceptions have
been used for special effects (5, 7, or 9 beats).

Formal Accents: Each time signature has its own formal accent (louder or
softer beats). If we use the convention that 1 is the loudest, 2 is softer, etc.,
then the (Viennese) waltz has the formal accent 133 (the famous oom-phapha); the first beat gets the accent; the Mazurka can be 313 or 331. Common
time has the formal accent 1323, and cut time and 2/4 have the accent 12.
The Mazurka has the accent 331, and a syncopation is a rhythm in which the
accent is placed at a location different from the formal accent; for example a
syncopated 4/4 might be 2313 or 2331. Note that the 2331 rhythm is fixed
throughout the composition, but the 1 is at an unconventional location.

Logical Timing and Accents: This is where the composer injects his music. It is
a change in timing and loudness from the formal rhythm. Although rhythmic
logic is not necessary, it is almost always there. Common examples of timing
rhythmic logic are accel. (to make things more exciting), decel. (perhaps to
indicate an ending) or rubato. Examples of dynamic rhythmic logic are
increasing or decreasing loudness, forte, PP, etc.

Beethoven's Tempest Sonata (Op. 31, #2), illustrates the formal and logical
rhythms. For example, in the 3rd movement, the first 3 bars are 3 repetitions
of the same structure, and they simply follow the formal rhythm. However, in
bars 43-46, there are 6 repetitions of the same structure in the RH, but they
must be squeezed into 4 formal rhythmic bars! If you make 6 identical
repetitions in the RH, you are wrong! In addition, in bar 47, there is an
unexpected "sf" that has nothing to do with the formal rhythm, but is an
absolutely essential logical rhythm.

If rhythm is so important, what guidance can one use, in order to cultivate it?
Obviously, you must treat rhythm as a separate subject of practice for which
you need a specific program of attack. Therefore, during the initial learning of
a new piece, set aside some time for working on the rhythm. A metronome,
especially one with advanced features, can be helpful here. First, you must

double check that your rhythm is consistent with the time signature. This
can't be done in your mind even after you can play the piece -- you must
revisit the sheet music and check every note. Too many students just play a
piece a certain way "because it sounds right"; you can't do that. You must
check with the score to see if the correct notes carry the correct accent
strictly according to the time signature. Only then, can you decide which
rhythmic interpretation is the best way to play and where the composer has
inserted violations of the basic rules (very rare); more often the rhythm
indicated by the time signature is strictly correct but sounds counter-intuitive.
An example of this is the mysterious "arpeggio" at the beginning of
Beethoven's Appassionata (Op. 57). A normal arpeggio (such as CEG) would
start with the first note (C), which should carry the accent (downbeat).
However, Beethoven starts each bar at the third note of the arpeggio (the
first bar is incomplete and carries the first two notes of the "arpeggio"); this
forces you to accent the third note, not the first note, if you follow the time
signature correctly. We find out the reason for this odd "arpeggio" when the
main theme is introduced in bar 35. Note that this "arpeggio" is just an
inverted, schematized (simplified) form of this theme. Beethoven had
psychologically prepared us for the main theme by giving us only the rhythm!
This is why he repeats it, after raising it by a curious interval -- he just wanted
to make sure that we recognized the unusual rhythm (he used the same
device at the beginning of his 5th symphony, where he repeated the 4-note
motif at a lower pitch). Another example is Chopin's Fantaisie-Impromptu. The
first note of the RH (bar 5) must be softer than the second. Can you find at
least one reason why? Although this piece is in double time, it may be
instructive to practice the RH as 4/4 to make sure that the wrong notes are
not emphasized.

Check the rhythm carefully when you start HS. Then check again when you
start HT. When the rhythm is wrong, the music usually becomes impossible to
play at speed. Thus, if you have unusual difficulty in getting up to speed, it is
a good idea to check the rhythm. In fact, incorrect rhythmic interpretation is
one of the most common causes of speed walls and why you have trouble HT.
When you make an rhythmic error, no amount of practice will enable you to
get up to speed! This is one of the reasons why outlining works: it can
simplify the job of correctly reading the rhythm. Therefore, when outlining,
concentrate on rhythm. Also, when you first start HT, you may have more
success by exaggerating the rhythm. Rhythm is another reason why you
should not attempt pieces that are too difficult for you. If you don't have
sufficient technique, you will not be able to control the rhythm. What can
happen is that the lack of technique will impose an incorrect rhythm into your
playing, thus creating a speed wall.

Next, look for the special rhythmic markings, such as "sf" or accent marks.
Finally, there are situations in which there are no indications on the music and
you simply have to know what to do, or listen to a recording in order to pick
up special rhythmic variations. Therefore, as part of your practice routine,
you should experiment with rhythm, accenting unexpected notes, etc., to see
what might happen.

Rhythm is also intimately associated with speed. This is why you need to play
most Beethoven compositions above certain speeds; otherwise, the emotions
associated with the rhythm and even the melodic lines can be lost.
Beethoven was a master of rhythm; thus you cannot play Beethoven
successfully without paying special attention to rhythm. He usually gives you
at least two things simultaneously: (i) an easy-to-follow melody that the
audience hears, and (ii) a rhythmic/harmonic device that controls what the
audience feels. Thus in the first movement of his Pathetique (Op. 13), the
agitated LH tremolo controls the emotions while the audience is preoccupied
with listening to the curious RH. Therefore a mere technical ability to handle
the fast LH tremolo is insufficient -- you must be able to control the emotional
content with this tremolo. Once you understand and can execute the
rhythmic concept, it becomes much easier to bring out the musical content of
the entire movement, and the stark contrast with the Grave section becomes
obvious.

There is one class of rhythmic difficulties that can be solved using a simple
trick. This is the class of complex rhythms with missing notes. A good
example of this can be found in the 2nd movement of Beethoven's
Pathetique. The 2/4 time signature is easy to play in bars 17 to 21 because of
the repeated chords of the LH that maintain the rhythm. However, in bar 22,
the most important accented notes of the LH are missing, making it difficult
to pick up the somewhat complex play in the RH. The solution to this problem
is to simply fill in the missing notes of the LH! In this way, you can easily
practice the correct rhythm in the RH.

In summary, the "secret" of great rhythm is no secret -- it must start with

correct counting (which, I must re-emphasize, is not easy). For advanced
pianists, it is of course much more; it is magic. It is what distinguishes the
great from the ordinary. It is not just counting the accents in each bar but
how the bars connect to create the developing musical idea the logical

component of rhythm. For example, in Beethoven's Moonlight (Op. 27), the

beginning of the 3rd movement is basically the 1st movement played at a
crazy speed. This knowledge tells us how to play the 1st movement, because
it means that the series of triplets in the 1st movement must be connected in
such a way that they lead to the culmination with the three repeated notes. If
you simply played the repeated notes independently of the preceding triplets,
they will lose their impact. Rhythm is also that odd or unexpected accent that
our brains somehow recognize as special. Clearly, rhythm is a critical element
of music to which we must pay special attention.

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