The A to Z of Sacred Music by Swain Joseph P

Author:Swain, Joseph P.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scarecrow Press

METER. The consistent pattern of accented and unaccented beats, which themselves must occur at consistent time intervals. The strength of metric perception depends upon how regular in time are the phenomenal accents and the qualitative difference between accented and unaccented beats. Chant, lacking regular beats and patterns of accent, is nearly always non-metric, one of its defining qualities.

In hymnody, meter refers to the count of syllables in each line in conjunction with a prosodic description, usually iambic or trochaic. The most common for four-line stanzas, all iambic, are the Short Meter (6.6.8.6.), the Common Meter (8.6.8.6.) and the Long Meter (8.8.8.8.). A modern hymnal will have a metrical index to facilitate the matching of hymn texts with alternative melodies. See also CONTRAFACTUM; METRICAL PSALMS.

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