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