UNIT 2.

1
20th CENTURY RHYTHMIC DEVICES
While the Impressionists were being dreamy in France, other composers around this
same time were looking to innovate via rhythmic and metric devices. Developments in
rhythm and meter in early 20th-century music produced some of the most rhythmically
complex material since the late Medieval period! Many of the rhythmic concepts
developed by composers like Stravinsky and Bartok, and explored in this unit, have
continued to be used since, particularly in genres like progressive rock (Yes, Rush, early
Genesis, Dream Theater, Tool, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Procol Harum, etc).

First, a quick overview of one of the most influential composers of this time…

IGOR STRAVINSKY (1882 - 1971)

Stravinsky was a Russian who studied composition under the tutelage of
Rimsky-Korsakov, the great Romantic composer and orchestrator.

Stravinsky’s output can be categorized into three phrases: his early Russian period, his
Neoclassical period, and his serial period. We will look closely at his later periods in
other units; for now, we will focus on some of the rhythmic developments seen in his
early works, written from around 1907-1919:

The Firebird - his first ballet, which was written with traditional orchestration,
harmonies, etc; he seemed to be looking to Rimsky-Korsakov for influence.

Petrouchka - this ballet uses Russian folk tunes and is really “Stravinsky-sounding”.

Rite of Spring: Pictures of Pagan Russia in Two Parts - This is what many people
associate with Stravinsky; it was very influential on rhythmic structure and included
very innovative stuff, like rhythms across barlines. It was scored for a huge orchestra
and quotes Lithuanian folk tunes throughout.
The choreography was offensive to people of the times, though it did not cause a riot as
some have reported! A young girl is chosen as a sacrificial victim and dances herself to
death at a spring festival. It was pretty offensive for the time. The video above is an
almost exact recreation of the original choreophraphy; watch that and compare it to
Swan Lake and you’ll see why audiences were not too fond of it.

The Soldier’s Tale - this was a theatrical work that involved dancers and was
accompanied by a small musical chamber group of seven musicians. It involves lots of
rhythmic devices such as polyrhythms, rhythms across barlines, asymmetrical meter,
etc.
NEW RHYTHMIC DEVICES!
In traditional meters, beats are usually grouped into regular patterns of two, three, or
four beats, each with its own implied metric accents.
A composer may achieve rhythmic irregularity using some devices such as the following:

Syncopation - Rhythmic figure stressing a normally weak beat

Some examples from chapter 13 of Music For Sight-Singing by Ottman/Rogers:

Syncopation, cont.

“Fascinating Rhythm” (George Gershwin), sung by Fred and Adelle Astaire!

-Fun fact: was originally called “Syncopated City”
Asymmetric meter - a meter in which the beats are of unequal length.

In this example, the 8th note is the division of the beat, so the beat itself is uneven
throughout. Sometimes it is a dotted quarter (worth three eighth notes), and sometimes
it is a quarter (worth only two eighth notes).

Stravinsky, Rite of Spring; excerpt from the Sacrificial Dance

Changing meter / mixed meter
This is when a time signature changes in the middle of the piece. It can happen between
any kinds of meter.

Generally speaking, the division of the beat remains consistent between meters, unless
otherwise indicated.

Mussorgsky, Pictures At An Exhibition, mvt. I Promenade

Stravinksy, The Rite of Spring, The Ritual of Abduction

Stravinsky, L’Histoire du Soldat (The Soldier’s Tale); Triumphal March of the Devil

Stravinsky, The Soldier’s March from L’Histoire du Soldat

(music on video)
Polyrhythm / Crossrhythm - Simultaneous presentation of two or more
different rhythmic streams; when you have multiple rhythmic ideas playing over each
other!

Here is 4:3

Another 4:3

Barber, Excursions - an example of 7:8

Polyrhythm / Crossrhythm, cont.

2:3 is very common… so common that it has its own term: hemiola

A really common example of hemiola is slipping between 3/4 and 6/8. Here, a rhythm
in 6/8 briefly feels like it’s in 3/4 in the third measure.

This example in 3/4 has rhythmic ideas across barlines so it feels like 2:3 (hemiola)

Conduct 6/4 as a compound time; each measure is divided into two beats, but measures
2 and 4 divide it into three. 2:3 (hemiola)

Some fun videos!

4:3: https://youtu.be/v8upXAChK-g
4:3: https://youtu.be/wQWQUc8CCa0
2:3: https://youtu.be/8ePgZPuhCAo
5:3: https://youtu.be/jOcGddkLYLM
Would you look at that

Stravinksy - Song of the Nightingale

In this moment: changing meter, crossrhythms, rhythms across barlines… and even a
pentatonic scale!
let’s keep going
Polymeter - Use of two time signatures at the same time. Not the same as
polyrhythm!

Older medieval and Renaissance music did this quite a bit:

Christopher Tye, In Nomine XXI “Reporte” (1500s) - each voice has its own time
signature!

Stravinsky, “The Shrovetide Fair” from Petrouchka

Remember that Petrouchka is a ballet; this music was written for a scene in which
contrasting actions were taking place on stage! So the contrasting time signatures is
actually very logical.
Don’t get confused! These two terms are sometimes mixed up:
Polyrhythm is within the same time signature
-”poly” “rhythm” - lots of rhythms in there
Polymeter is actually two distinct time signatures
-”poly” “meter” - lots of meters (time signatures)
Ametric - lack of obvious meter; the listener cannot tell what the meter is and the
music sounds like it is in free time.
Ametric music may be truly written without any time signature, but it can also be
written with a time signature, but lacking recurring pulses so that it is not obvious to the
listener.

Liturgical music is sometimes ametric:

Varese, Density 21.5

This does have a meter, and even a tempo marking, which should be followed, but it is
written in such a way that it will sound as if it is in free time to the listener.
Metric modulation - an immediate change in tempo of the division of the beat
created by equating a particular note value to another note.

Metric modulation is such a cool concept. It’s kind like a pivot chord or pivot tone
modulation, but instead of using a common chord or tone to pivot from one key area to
another, it uses a common rhythm to modulation from one tempo to another tempo.

Chapter 17 from Music For Sight Singing by Ottman/Rogers covers this, and I’ve
included some examples from that book here.

In this example, the quarter note in 2/4 time is the same length as the dotted quarter in
6/8 time.
This means that the beat will not change tempo, but the division of the beat will.
If you were conducting and tapping while counting this (you are, aren’t you?), your
conducting hand would stay the same speed while your tapping hand would speed up.

This is the same thing, but the other way around; this time, the dotted quarter in 9/8
stays the same length as a quarter in 2/4. This means that the beat (your conducting
hand) stays the same speed while the division (your taps) slows down.
Carter, String Quartet no. 2, mvt. II

Tchaikovsky, Sleeping Beauty

-It’s hard to tell here but that is “Dotted Quarter = Quarter”

If there is a meter change, and no metric modulation is indicated, assume that the
division of the beat stays the same. Here, this example (from the Ottman book) tells you
that the division stays constant by writing “8th note = 8th note”.

The division of 3/4 time stays consistent as the division of 6/8.

This means that the division (your tapping hand) stays the same speed, while
the beat (your conducting hand) will slow down because
it has to fit three taps in now instead of just two!
Non-retrogradable rhythms - the same forward or backwards; like a
palindrome. Same rhythm either way.

Remember….
"Retrogradable" would mean that it could be played backwards and it WOULD
result in something different.
“Non-retrogradable” means you can’t reverse it… nothing will happen if you do

Some music (like the incredible example above) include pitch in this palindrome!
For example, John Luther Adams’ Become Ocean is a giant palindrome.
Haydn no. 47, mvt. III
Bach’s “Crab Canon” from The King’s Offering is a table canon:
Polytempo - Simultaneous use of more than one tempo.

Nancarrow, Studies For Player Piano

-The composer created the rhythms by hand-punching holes in player piano rolls.

Ives, The Unanswered Question

Ostinato - repeating pattern of pitch and/or rhythm; used as a unifying device.

Ravel, Bolero

Carol of the Bells

Sumer Is Icumen In

MORE FUN!

Rite of Spring Clap-Along

Prog Rockin
Genesis - Fifth of Firth
Yes - Close To The Edge
Dream Theater - Metropolis Pt. 1
Rush - YYZ

EDM Rockin
Some Deadmau5 tracks that use interesting rhythmic devices:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6o69eV6vLo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDndZn0YPdI