3

Rhythm

Rhythm, in its most general sense, refers to the time element of music; it is the relationship between sounds and silences in time. These time relationships create countless patterns. As a time relationship, rhythm is one of the most fascinating, puzzling aspects of music. We experience time in a thousand different ways--under different circumstances, five minutes can seem as an eternity or fly by in an instant.

More specifically, a rhythm refers to a pattern of long and short durations. We might state that a drummer has a very complex "rhythm" to perform--referring to the specific pattern played. Listen to the following example of rhythm.

			Example of rhythm