Paul Jutras teaches drumming from the heart to empower and inspire drummers of all ages. Chops Drum School
The word rhythm comes from the Greek word, “Rhythmos”, meaning any regular reoccurring motion. Rhythm also has origins from another Greek word, “Rheîn”, meaning to flow. Humans seem to be particularly rhythmic animals. Decades of research has shown our brains are tuned in to the fine degrees of rhythmic information in music and speech, and are two of our most prominent features.
The human ability to perceive, produce and process rhythm as patterns within time, are directly rooted in our evolutionary history. As our environment changes rhythms, so do we. There is rhythm to the moon’s cycles, which regulate the rhythm of the oceans tides. The symmetry of the cycles of time, such as hours, minutes, seasons, years, and the motions of the planets, are all rhythm in our lives.
All languages use rhythm, since words have syllables they create flow to the words. In poetry, rhythm can be described as the beat and pace created by the pattern of emphasized strong and understated weak syllable‘s, in a line or verse. As is similar in the phrasing of notes in classical music. In common 4/4 time the 1st beat is the strongest, the 2nd beat is weak, the 3rd beat is strong, and the 4th beat is weak.
Rhythm is a reoccurring pattern of accents, like OOMpah-pah, OOM -pah- pah in German polka music. Just as seconds are the pulse within the span of a minute, rhythm defines and measures the pulse in music, and involves the timing of musical sounds and silences. Rhythm is the most fundamental layer of music, it depends on it,since without it melody could not exist. Rhythm is present in all aspects of our lives, it is essential to the understanding
of spoken language, and is the foundation of all music.