beat
Let an agent handle musical beat by metre, tempo, feel and notation, and separate other senses of beat.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify
Researched by: Claude
Purpose and description
Let an agent handle musical beat by metre, tempo, feel and notation, and separate other senses of beat.
The basic unit of time in music, the regular pulse that listeners tap along to, organised into bars by metre; related concepts include downbeat, upbeat, on-beat and off-beat, and tempo measured in beats per minute.
What it is for: Keeping time and structuring rhythm.
It can be find the tempo of a piece; identify metre and strong beats; explain on-beat and off-beat feels; practise with a metronome.
Distinguishing features
Regular pulse
Grouped by metre
Strong and weak beats
Basis of dance and ensemble timing
What it looks like
Heard as a pulse; shown in notation by time signatures and note values.
Physical character
typical tempo: about 60-180 BPM - common range
How it is recognised
Time signatures such as 4/4
Tempo marks in BPM
A beat in physics or policing is a different sense
Related models
is a kind of - category
is measured as - rate
is organised by - structure
is kept with - tool
In practice
Families and kinds
downbeat
upbeat
backbeat and off-beat
four on the floor
swung and straight beats
Failure modes and hazards
Confusing beat with rhythm
Confusing senses
Also called
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Also registered as vr.tr.beat
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions.
Pulse The beat.
Tempo and metre.
Tempo
BPM.
Tempo
Tempo.
- What is the tempo in beats per minute? measurement
- Does it change during the piece? boundary
Metre
Time signature.
Metre
Metre.
- What is the metre and which beats are strong? definition
- How is it notated? definition
Feel Groove.
Feel shapes style.
Off-beat
Accents.
Off-beat
Accents.
- Are accents on or off the beat? definition
- Which styles use this feel? definition
Swing
Straight or swung.
Swing
Swing.
- Is the beat played straight or swung? definition
- How much swing? measurement
Practice Timing.
Timing is trained.
Metronome
Tool.
Metronome
Metronome.
- How can a metronome be used to practise this passage? action
- At what starting tempo? measurement
Ensemble
Playing together.
Ensemble
Ensemble timing.
- How can an ensemble lock to the beat? action
- Who sets the tempo? definition
Senses Disambiguation.
Beat has many senses.
Physics
Beat frequency.
Physics
Physics sense.
- Is a beat frequency between two tones meant? boundary
- Which entry fits? action
Other
Heartbeat, patrol.
Other
Other senses.
- Is a heartbeat or a police beat meant? boundary
- Which entry fits? action
What the second pass must settle
- Should beat types be separate entries?
- How should tempo data be linked?
- How should other senses be split off?