Shifting Accents

Abstract

Abstract Much of the book’s content thus far concerns variation through some form of accentuation. This chapter addresses accentual variation from three angles. The first section looks at displacement: the shifting of a note, group of notes, or entire phrase from one position in the measure to another. While grids often play a role in displacement, the examples serve as reminders that notes are more than movable pieces on a metric gameboard. The second section turns to cyclical rhythms comprising mixed binary and ternary groupings. Though routinely associated with so-called non-isochronous meters, these groupings are also present in meters such as `* and 4$. The chapter closes with an analysis of “Them Man Are Dead” by grime MCs Jme and Big Zuu, gathering together concepts from this and earlier chapters.