Introduction

Up until now, we have read rhythm patterns in duple meter in the time signature 2/4, and we have read rhythm patterns in triple meter in the time signature 6/8. Interestingly, we can read those exact same sounding patterns in more time signatures.

This may seem confusing at first, but, if we come back to our “Music is like a second language” analogy, we can find many confusing aspects of language.

Inconsistencies of Language

Watch the comedian Gallagher - more known for smashing watermelons than his language acumen -  discuss some of the many inconsistencies of language in this short clip (which has been edited for a few off-color words). 

George Bernard Shaw quipped that you could spell the word “fish” like this: ghoti. If you take the “gh” from the word “rough,” the “o” from the word “women” and the “ti” from the word “nation,” he is absolutely right. 

Written English is filled with all manner of inconsistencies. Written music is no exception.

Enrhythmic

If two pitches sound the same, but are notated differently (like C# and Db, for example), they are called enharmonic. Gordon borrowed from that and created the word enrhythmic to describe rhythm patterns that sound the same but are notated differently. 

In this course, I will demonstrate two ways that rhythm patterns can be notated differently:

1. By the number of macrobeats in a measure (in the time signature 4/4)

2. By the varying rhythmic values that can represent macrobeats and microbeats (in the time signatures 3/4 and Cut Time).