I'd echo the dictionary of music definition: "a pattern of movement over time." That's what I'd say to a 5 yr old. Along with, "although Rhythm is mostly thought of in terms of music, the term largely applies to everything in life, stuff outside music. Like walking/jogging/running pace (rhythm), breathing rhythm (inhale/exhale), rhythm of conversation, cadence of speech, rhythm of the sun, and rhythm of the moon."
English teacher here :) I'm also an amateur jazz guitarist. Concise does NOT mean dumbed down. I teach my most advanced students that the purpose of any writing or presentation is to distill the complexity of your topic into a concise claim because the purpose of Rhetoric (capital R rhetoric) is to articulate your ideas so that ANYONE who is interested can understand your argument. We often use big words to sound smart, even when we don't know the meaning of those words. True intelligence involves saying the ineffably complex within the language of the people. When you say "rhythm is notes within a beat" then you imply that drummers are also playing notes--as well as the corollary--that everyone ELSE is playing rhythm. Look at that! Rhythm shouldn't be the responsibility of any one musician on the bandstand. Ask Christian McBride that. Ask Brian Blade. Hell, ask Patrick Bartley. Rhythm is notes within a beat means we are all in charge of rhythm and we are all in charge of melody. And if harmony is when several melodies rhythmically align to harmonize--then we are ALL responsible for the same music! I think many people are missing the point here @drummersalmanac. That said, please don't call your definition "dumbed down."
Absolutely 100 percent. Those are all great points. Thanks for taking the time to share. And yes... rhythm is the responsibility of everyone... not just drummers. I do know a ton of chordal and melodic instrumentalist who tend to lean in on things like melody and chord structure... leaving rhythm as an after thought. But all notes start with rhythm. Everything else is built off of that. I've said it to guitarists and horn players who come in to study rhythm. When you are playing in the song... you are not playing a "C" note or an "G#" note etc... You are playing an 8th notes, or 16th note, or quarter note and the pitch is "C."
@@Thedrummersalmanac In any genre of music--you can tell the the armchair enthusiasts apart from the serious musicians by how they respect the beat and the rhythm. That goes for any instrument and any genre. I know that when I listen to myself play guitar on shit I recorded--usually the material that is lame or "ain't landing" is the stuff where I put the chordal and melodic material over the rhythm and beat of the situation. The real surprise is how the study jazz is taught, the genre I know and love, where rhythm and beat are secondary--or not even taught at ALL... if you don't study the drums. The excuse is often that rhythm is harder to teach... then how is music passed down and taught in throughout West Africa and the world, where many musicians don't know "Western Theory"? Modes killed jazz ed, and the key to the rebirth of jazz pedagogy is to refocus our lens on rhythm and beat--no matter what instrument we play. Rhythm and beat are the universal language within music. As Dr. Barry Harris used to echo, "rhythm rules the world." It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that...
Rhythm is the heartbeat of music.
That's pulse
id say rhythm is the perceived pocket of either listener or player
I'd echo the dictionary of music definition: "a pattern of movement over time." That's what I'd say to a 5 yr old.
Along with, "although Rhythm is mostly thought of in terms of music, the term largely applies to everything in life, stuff outside music. Like walking/jogging/running pace (rhythm), breathing rhythm (inhale/exhale), rhythm of conversation, cadence of speech, rhythm of the sun, and rhythm of the moon."
Mathematically regulated patterns of sound and/or movement.
English teacher here :) I'm also an amateur jazz guitarist. Concise does NOT mean dumbed down. I teach my most advanced students that the purpose of any writing or presentation is to distill the complexity of your topic into a concise claim because the purpose of Rhetoric (capital R rhetoric) is to articulate your ideas so that ANYONE who is interested can understand your argument. We often use big words to sound smart, even when we don't know the meaning of those words. True intelligence involves saying the ineffably complex within the language of the people.
When you say "rhythm is notes within a beat" then you imply that drummers are also playing notes--as well as the corollary--that everyone ELSE is playing rhythm. Look at that! Rhythm shouldn't be the responsibility of any one musician on the bandstand. Ask Christian McBride that. Ask Brian Blade. Hell, ask Patrick Bartley. Rhythm is notes within a beat means we are all in charge of rhythm and we are all in charge of melody. And if harmony is when several melodies rhythmically align to harmonize--then we are ALL responsible for the same music!
I think many people are missing the point here @drummersalmanac. That said, please don't call your definition "dumbed down."
Absolutely 100 percent. Those are all great points. Thanks for taking the time to share. And yes... rhythm is the responsibility of everyone... not just drummers. I do know a ton of chordal and melodic instrumentalist who tend to lean in on things like melody and chord structure... leaving rhythm as an after thought. But all notes start with rhythm. Everything else is built off of that. I've said it to guitarists and horn players who come in to study rhythm. When you are playing in the song... you are not playing a "C" note or an "G#" note etc... You are playing an 8th notes, or 16th note, or quarter note and the pitch is "C."
@@Thedrummersalmanac In any genre of music--you can tell the the armchair enthusiasts apart from the serious musicians by how they respect the beat and the rhythm. That goes for any instrument and any genre. I know that when I listen to myself play guitar on shit I recorded--usually the material that is lame or "ain't landing" is the stuff where I put the chordal and melodic material over the rhythm and beat of the situation.
The real surprise is how the study jazz is taught, the genre I know and love, where rhythm and beat are secondary--or not even taught at ALL... if you don't study the drums. The excuse is often that rhythm is harder to teach... then how is music passed down and taught in throughout West Africa and the world, where many musicians don't know "Western Theory"? Modes killed jazz ed, and the key to the rebirth of jazz pedagogy is to refocus our lens on rhythm and beat--no matter what instrument we play. Rhythm and beat are the universal language within music. As Dr. Barry Harris used to echo, "rhythm rules the world." It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that...
Rhythm, yes
I’m still working on Part 3 …it kinda got away from me.
What is rhythm? That is a tough question!
I know, that YOU know the answer 😂
Notes regulated by a beat.
Perfect answer 👍🏻