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A tone may be sustained for varying lengths of time. Duration is a property of tone that becomes one of the bases rhythm or an amount
Quantity

Quantity is a kind of property which exists as magnitude or multitude. It is among the basic classes of things along with Quality , substance, change, and relation....
 of time
Time

Time is a component of the measurement used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify the motions of objects....
 or a particular time interval
Interval (time)

With regards to time, an interval or period is the duration between two Spacetime#Basic conceptss or occurrences of similar events. It is related to the mathematical concept of interval in that the interval contains all of the Point s of time between the two events....
. For example, an event in the common sense has a duration greater than zero (but not very long), but in certain specialized senses (such as in the theory of relativity
Spacetime

In physics, spacetime is any mathematical model that combines space and Time in physics into a single continuum . Spacetime is usually interpreted with space being Three-dimensional space and time playing the role of a fourth dimension that is of a different sort than the spatial dimensions....
), a duration of zero. It is often cited as one of the fundamental aspects of music
Music

Music is an art form whose media is sound organized in time. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm , dynamics , and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture ....
, see also rhythm
Rhythm

Rhythm is the variation of the length and accentuation of a series of sounds or other events....
.

Durations, and their beginnings and endings, may be described as long, short, or taking a specific amount of time.






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A tone may be sustained for varying lengths of time. Duration is a property of tone that becomes one of the bases rhythm or an amount
Quantity

Quantity is a kind of property which exists as magnitude or multitude. It is among the basic classes of things along with Quality , substance, change, and relation....
 of time
Time

Time is a component of the measurement used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify the motions of objects....
 or a particular time interval
Interval (time)

With regards to time, an interval or period is the duration between two Spacetime#Basic conceptss or occurrences of similar events. It is related to the mathematical concept of interval in that the interval contains all of the Point s of time between the two events....
. For example, an event in the common sense has a duration greater than zero (but not very long), but in certain specialized senses (such as in the theory of relativity
Spacetime

In physics, spacetime is any mathematical model that combines space and Time in physics into a single continuum . Spacetime is usually interpreted with space being Three-dimensional space and time playing the role of a fourth dimension that is of a different sort than the spatial dimensions....
), a duration of zero. It is often cited as one of the fundamental aspects of music
Music

Music is an art form whose media is sound organized in time. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm , dynamics , and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture ....
, see also rhythm
Rhythm

Rhythm is the variation of the length and accentuation of a series of sounds or other events....
.

Durations, and their beginnings and endings, may be described as long, short, or taking a specific amount of time. Often duration is described according to terms borrowed from descriptions of pitch
Pitch (music)

Pitch represents the perceived fundamental frequency of a sound. It is one of the three major auditory system attributes of sounds along with loudness and timbre....
. As such, the duration complement
Complement (music)

In traditional music theory a complement is the interval which, when added to the original interval, spans an octave in total. For example, a major 3rd is the complement of a minor 6th....
 is the amount of different durations used, the duration scale is an ordering (scale) of those durations from shortest to longest, the duration range
Range (music)

In music, the range of a musical instrument is the distance from the lowest to the highest pitch it can play. For a singing register , this is known as vocal range....
 is the difference in length between the shortest and longest, and the duration hierarchy
Hierarchy

A 'hierarchy' is an arrangement of items The word derives from the Greek language , from ?e?????? , "president of sacred rites, high-priest" and that from , "sacred" + , "to lead, to rule"....
 is an ordering of those durations based on frequency of use (DeLone et al. (Eds.), 1975, chap. 3).

Durational patterns are the foreground details projected against a background metric structure, which includes meter
Metre (music)

Meter or metre is a concept related to an underlying division of time characteristic of western music. The concept provides that the pattern, is usually 2, 3, or 4 beats long, , and each beat may be normally divided into 2 or 3 basic subdivisions ....
, tempo
Tempo

In musical terminology, 'tempo' is the speed or pace of a given musical piece. It is an extremely crucial element of composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece....
, and all rhythmic aspects which produce temporal regularity or structure. Duration patterns may be divided into rhythmic unit
Rhythmic unit

A rhythmic unit is a durational pattern which occupies a period of time equivalent to a pulse or pulses on an underlying metric level, as opposed to a rhythmic gesture....
s and rhythmic gesture
Rhythmic gesture

A rhythmic gesture is a durational pattern which, in contrast to a rhythmic unit, does not occupy a period of time equivalent to a pulse or pulses on an underlying metric level....
s (DeLone et al. (Eds.), 1975, chap. 3). However, they may also be described using terms borrowed from the metrical feet of poetry: iamb
Iamb

An iamb or iambus is a metrical foot used in various types of poetry. Originally the term referred to one of the feet of the quantitative meter of classical Greek prosody : a short syllable followed by a long syllable ....
 (weak-strong), anapest (weak-weak-strong), trochee
Trochee

A trochee or choree, choreus, is a metrical foot used in formal poetry. It consists of a stressed syllable syllable followed by an unstressed syllable one....
 (strong-weak), dactyl
Dactyl (poetry)

A dactyl is a type of Meter . In quantitative verse, such as Greek language or Latin, a dactyl is a long syllable followed by two short syllables, as determined by syllable weight....
 (strong-weak-weak), and amphibrach
Amphibrach

An amphibrach is a metrical foot used in Latin language and Greek language prosody . It consists of a long syllable between two short syllables....
 (weak-strong-weak), which may overlap to explain ambiguity (Cooper and Meyer, 1960).

See also

  • Time scale (music)
    Time scale (music)

    In music, a time scale is specification of divisions of time or rhythm.Curtis Roads distinguishes nine time scales of music:#Infinite: literally infinite, such as the length of sine waves in classical Fourier analysis,...