All Beats are NOT Created Equal

Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. The subject today is about how all beats are not created equal. This almost sounds like blasphemy, but it’s absolutely true! What am I talking about here? Well, it depends upon the nature of a piece of music, the time signature, the period style, and so many other things.

There are different types of emphasis within a time signature.

Even in 4/4 time, the beats are not always evenly emphasized. Instead of a monotonous sequence of one – two – three – four, the emphasis can shift and create rhythmic diversity. Oftentimes, the “1” is the strongest beat, the “3” is the second strongest beat, and the “4” is the weakest beat. By playing with emphasis on the “1” and “3,” you get a more elegant sound.

There are many dance forms in music, and they are a great way to demonstrate this concept.

What better way to show how beats are not equal than in a dance movement? When people are moving to music, they’re making different motions depending upon what beat is playing. A waltz, for example, Chopin’s B minor Waltz, is in 3/4 time as all waltzes are. The “1” is the strongest beat, and the “3” is the second strongest beat. Just imagine a ballroom filled with people dancing the waltz. The “1” is the big motion, and the “3” is the second biggest motion, bringing it back to the “1.” This can help you intrinsically understand the idea that not all beats are created equal watching the motion of dancers. Some beats involve more movement than others.

Interestingly, other pieces in 3/4 time have different emphasis.

For example, in the famous Mozart C Major Sonata K545, the second movement is in 3/4 time. There is a little bit of emphasis on the one, but not like a waltz. Another example of this is the last movement of Mozart’s C Minor Sonata K457. This one is faster, like the Chopin waltz, but with a completely different emphasis of beats. It’s really two-measure phrases with emphasis on the first beat of every two measures! So beats aren’t created equal, not just in emphasis, but even in the amount of time they get, to some extent.

There’s a certain style to dance movements in particular that creates energy and emotion.

This is true of just about all music. It’s very unusual to have a piece where all the beats are exactly the same. It’s a rare quality in music. It’s akin to your speech. When you’re speaking, your intonation isn’t the same for all words. You have natural emphasis for some words. It’s the same with music. So start thinking about where the strong beats are in your music. Usually “1” is the strongest beat in most music, but even that is not always true. You will discover this as you experiment with your music trying to feel where the strong beats are!

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