• Introduction
• Sound
• Rhythm
• Melody
• Harmony
• Structure
• Notation

Beat

Another component of music is patterns of recurring pulses and accents that form an underlying rhythm that gives shape to the tones. Composers choose different rhythms depending on the music's purpose. For example, the rhythm of Latin dance music is different than that of a calming lullaby.

Beats are the basic unit of musical time — the pulses that we hear and that cause us to tap our feet in “time” with the music. Combining and organizing these beats creates the rhythms we hear in a piece of music.The rhythmic beat often forms the background against which a composer places the notes of a melody.