Rhythm builds on the beat, and both are always related to each other ( source).Īs an interesting side note, in Greek, rhythmos means “to flow.” BeatĪ beat is the unit of time we use in a piece of music, and it is the steady and regular pulse we hear in music. Rhythm does not have to be regular and evenly spaced as with a beat, so we understand rhythm as the movement of music through time. Each measure satisfies the staff’s specific time signature, and we know this time signature as the beat. We can discern the pitch based on where the note is on the staff, and we know what rhythm to play by what type of note it is in the measure.Ī measure is the section of music that comes between two bar lines. We can roughly divide music into layers based on elements that build upon each other to form a rich or sparse texture, so let’s have a look at these elements, starting with rhythm and pitch.
Before discussing the difference between homophony and polyphony, let’s review the concepts of harmony, melody, rhythm, pitch, and beat to help us better understand the layers that form musical texture.
