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Elements of Music and Notation
Quick questions on Rhythm, metre and tempo explained: N(A)-Level Music
6short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is metre?Show answer
Metre is how the beats are grouped. Bars of two beats give a marching feel (strong-weak), bars of three give a waltz feel (strong-weak-weak), and bars of four are the most common in pop and many other styles (a strong beat 1, a slightly strong beat 3, weaker 2 and 4). The first beat of each bar is the strong beat (the downbeat).
What are counting simple time signatures?Show answer
The time signature shows the metre. In simple time the bottom number is usually 4, meaning the quarter note gets the beat:
What is tempo?Show answer
Tempo is the speed of the beat, often given in Italian words: Adagio (slow), Andante (a walking pace), Moderato (moderate), Allegro (fast), Presto (very fast). A faster tempo means more beats per minute, so the beats are closer together. Words such as ritardando (rit.) mean gradually slow down.
What is q1?Show answer
Explain the difference between the beat and the rhythm of a piece. [2 marks]
What is q2?Show answer
State how many beats are in a bar of 3/4 and what dance feel it gives. [2 marks]
What is q3?Show answer
Put these tempo words in order from slowest to fastest: Allegro, Adagio, Moderato. [3 marks]
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