Rhythm types

Observe the people around you and the word ‘rhythm’ might cross your mind. Some dance to the sound of popular radio beats. Others hum tunes or tap their fingers as they listen to nameless songs through their headphones. There are those who quote passages as they converse and those who practice speeches. Sounds and movements occurring in rhythmic patterns are all around us.

What is rhythm?

Rhythm is the repetition of a set composed of strong and weak parts played out in a definite period of time. These parts can be made up of sounds, words or movements that are put together to produce combinations pleasing to the eyes and ears.
There is still no definite explanation as to why humans perceive rhythms but some suggest that it is because the body itself has regular rhythmic functions. Others also theorize that we can observe rhythms because, as thinking beings, we have a sense of time and can therefore detect repetition.
Rhythm can be observed in music, poetry, speech and dance.

Types of Rhythm

Music

In music, rhythms are observed as a certain number of beats carried over a specific length of time. Within that period, a single slow beat or a multitude of very fast ones can constitute the sequence that is to be repeated. These beats are represented as notes and pauses. Each type of these is played at a certain speed. When put together in a certain sequence, they should play out in the duration of the set period.

Poetry

Poetry’s rhythm is rooted in the ordering of the stressed and unstressed syllables in the words that make up the poem and how they are repeated. They may be as simple as a sequence of one stressed syllable followed by an unstressed one throughout the poem or as complex as various combinations of syllable stresses in different verses and stanzas.

Speech

Rhythms in speech can be directly observed in chants, such as in children’s games or tribal rituals. It is less perceivable in normal conversations but it is present as the change in pitch and tone of the speakers’ voices. It can also be described as their accents.

Dance

Dance display rhythm very much like music, only, instead of notes and pauses, movements are used. These movements are called steps, and each step is performed in a specific number of beats. Examples of steps are the waltz, with three beats, and the polka, with two.


There are several rhythm types, ranging from music, to dance to poetry. Rhythm is actually an inherent part of everyday life in various forms. More information about the subject can be found in the Cambridge encyclopedia volumes.