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Tonal RhythmDr. Megan L. Lavengood – September 25, 2019

References

� Lerdahl and Jackendoff. 1983. A Generative Theory of Tonal Music. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

� Mirka, Danuta. 2009. Metric Manipulations in Haydn and Mozart: Chamber Music for Strings, 1787–1791. New York: Oxford University Press.

� Rothstein, William. 1989. Phrase Rhythm in Tonal Music. New York: Schirmer.

� Schachter, Carl. 1999. Unfoldings. Edited by Joseph N. Straus. New York: Oxford University Press.

� Klorman, Edward. 2016. “Notes on Metrical Theory.” http://mozartsmusicoffriends.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Notes-on-Metrical-Theory.pdf.

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Meter as an analytical experience

� Meter is not only something written into the music, but also something that listeners actively produce with mental processing.

� Meter is typically reflected in notation, but also experienced without aid of notation.

� There is usually no one right answer in metric analysis.

� However, we can learn to back up our interpretations with facts.

Meter and Measures

� Meter is often defined as a series of evenly-spaced beats, organized into patterns of strong and weak beats. This can be visualized in a dot grid.

� Metrical accent: a quality of “downbeatness” that imbues certain beats with hierarchical salience.

� Metrical levels: levels of evenly-spaced pulses that are arranged hierarchically to create different levels of metrical accent.

Hypermeter

� Hypermeter is a notion or experience of meter at levels higher than the notated bar.

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Hypermeter

hypermeasurehyperbeat

Hypermeter

� Hypermeter is not necessarily stable throughout an entire piece.

� 18th-c. music tends to feature more erratic hypermeter than 19th-c. music.

� A hypermeter will be established and sustained for some time, until some disruptive element throws the hypermeter into question.

� Because hypermeter is not a notated phenomenon, the analyst must explain and justify why a certain counting “fits” better than another.

Grouping (vs. hypermeter)

� The term grouping refers to how melodic motives are grouped together into larger phrase units. (Shown here with brackets)

� Grouping is distinct from hypermeter, and there is not always an exact correlation between them.

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Grouping (vs. hypermeter)

Grouping (vs. hypermeter)

Grouping (vs. hypermeter)

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Interpreting Hypermeter

Interpreting hypermeter

Interpreting hypermeter

1. it aligns changes of harmony with relatively strong metrical positions;

2. it aligns long notes with relatively strong metrical positions;

3. it aligns the commencement of the first oom-pah-pah figuration with a relatively strong metrical position;

4. it aligns the commencement of slurs with relatively strong metrical positions;

5. it aligns bass notes (“ooms”), rather than bass rests (“pa-pas”) with relatively strong metrical positions;

6. it aligns the most stable verticalities of each measure (such as the root-position “ooms,” rather than the second-inversion “pa-pas”) with relatively strong metrical positions.

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Metrical Preference Rules

(Klorman, pg. 15)

Metrical Preference Rules

(Klorman, pg. 15)

Using MPRs to create arguments

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Using MPRs to create arguments

Using MPRs to create arguments

1. (1) the inception of the half-note rhythmic duration, a long note value relative to the surrounding quarters and eighths (MPR 5a);

2. (2) the inception of the forte dynamic (MPR 5b);

3. (3) the inception of a new accompanimentalpattern involving tutti orchestration and repeated quarters in the bass (MPR 5d, amplified by MPR 6); and

4. (4) the inception of the tonic pedal (MPRs 5e and 5f, amplified by MPR 6).

Wrap up

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Wrap up

� Klorman’s essay elaborates many other ways that hypermeter is reinterpreted and manipulated, including:

� Reinterpretation

� Elision

� Phrase overlap� “Extra” measures and expansions

� Motivic manipulation