Timing (music)

Timing in music refers to the ability to "keep time" accurately and to synchronise to an ensemble,[1] as well as to expressive timing--subtle adjustment of note or beat duration, or of tempo, for aesthetic effect.

Research in music cognition has shown that time as a subjective structuring of events in music, differs from the concept of time in physics.[2] Listeners to music do not perceive rhythm on a continuous scale, but recognise rhythmic categories that function as a reference relative to which the deviations in timing can be appreciated.[3][4] Temporal patterns in music combine two different time scales--rhythmic durations such as half and quarter notes on the one hand, and on the other, the continuous timing variations that characterize an expressive musical performance.

## See also

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* Rhythm
* Time signature

## References

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1. ^ Petr Janata; Scott T. Grafton. "Swinging in the brain : shared neural substrates for behaviors related to sequencing and music" (PDF). Dbic.dartmouth.edu. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
2. ^ Michon, J.A. & Jackson, J.L. (1985) Time, Mind, and Behavior. Berlin: Springer
3. ^ Clarke, E. F. (1999) Rhythm and Timing in Music, in: Diana Deutsch (ed.), Psychology of Music, second edition, University of California, San Diego, pp.473-500
4. ^ Honing, H. (2002) Structure and interpretation of rhythm and timing in Dutch Journal of Music Theory (Tijdschrift voor Muziektheorie). vol 7(3), p. 227-232.pdf