Subdivision
Dividing a beat into smaller equal parts, such as two eighth notes or four sixteenths, so the rhythm can be counted exactly.
Also called: subdividing the beat, division of the beat
A subdivision divides a beat into smaller equal parts. In simple meter a quarter-note beat splits into two eighths or four sixteenths. In compound meter a dotted-quarter beat splits into three eighths or six sixteenths. Counting subdivisions gives the fine grid under the beat. A common count for sixteenths in 4/4 is one-e-and-a, two-e-and-a, and so on, which gives sixteen syllables in the bar. Subdivision matters most in syncopation and triplets, where an attack lands between written grid lines. At 100 beats per minute a sixteenth note lasts 150 milliseconds, and a performer who counts sixteenths can place a note inside that margin. The count reads the grid. It does not change the tempo.
Related terms
- BeatOne unit of the steady pulse that runs under a piece, the level at which listeners tap a foot or count.
- TripletThree notes played in the time of two notes of the same value, marked with a figure 3 over the group.
- TupletAny group of notes that does not fit the normal division of the beat, such as five notes in the time of four.
- Simple meterA meter in which each beat divides into two equal parts, as in 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4.