Rhythmochronic Competence and Sense of Rhythm

When people practice Offbeat Count, which counts one eighth note early, they split clearly into two groups: those who can do it quickly, and those who remain unable to do it even over a long period of time. One could simply say that some people “have a sense of rhythm” and others “do not,” but that does not really explain the phenomenon. Those who can do it tend to pick it up quickly, whereas those who cannot may show little change even after spending years on it.

The cause of this difference is thought to lie in the kind of Rhythmochronic Competence a person originally possessed. Human beings have many kinds of Rhythmochronic Competence. In that sense, Rhythmochronic Competence is like Pokemon cards: there are many kinds, and each person possesses a different set of them.

People who already possess all of the kinds of Rhythmochronic Competence required for Offbeat Count can perform Offbeat Count immediately. If they do not possess the necessary ones, they cannot do it easily.

In other words, by acquiring the kinds of Rhythmochronic Competence required for Offbeat Count one by one through training, Offbeat Count itself can be acquired step by step. And by becoming proficient in Offbeat Count, one can acquire still more kinds of Rhythmochronic Competence and become able to perform many different kinds of groove.

So what exactly is Rhythmochronic Competence?

What Is Rhythmochronic Competence

There are several major kinds of Rhythmochronic Competence.

weak-beat-precedence competence
- 1-dimensional = syllable-timed-rhythm weak-beat-precedence competence
- 2-dimensional = stress-timed-rhythm weak-beat-precedence competence
- 3-dimensional = African-type-rhythm weak-beat-precedence competence
strong-beat-precedence competence
strong/weak-beat-precedence switching competence
tail-alignment competence
- Note: maximum span = from a sixteenth note to eight measures
head-alignment competence
head/tail-alignment switching competence
strong-beat-anchoring-axis competence
weak-beat-anchoring-axis competence

Among the kinds of Rhythmochronic Competence required for Offbeat Count, the most important and the hardest to acquire is weak-beat precedence.

Syllable-Timed-Rhythm Weak-Beat-Precedence Competence

Syllable-timed rhythm has a pronunciation rule called the Maximal Prosodic Onset Principle (MPOP). It is the rule that all final consonants are grouped together with adjacent onset consonants in pronunciation. This is also called linking. Musically, it can be regarded as equivalent to weak-beat precedence. Here I call this syllable-timed-rhythm weak-beat precedence. The ability to recognize this is called syllable-timed-rhythm weak-beat-precedence competence.

Stress-Timed-Rhythm Weak-Beat-Precedence Competence

Stress-timed rhythm has the pronunciation rule called the Maximal Prosodic Onset Principle (MPOP). It is the rule that all final syllables are grouped together with adjacent onset syllables in pronunciation. This too can be regarded musically as equivalent to weak-beat precedence. Here I call this stress-timed-rhythm weak-beat precedence. The ability to recognize this is called stress-timed-rhythm weak-beat-precedence competence.

African-Type-Rhythm Weak-Beat-Precedence Competence

This is not a beat rhythm that exists in phonology. Nor is it a rhythm that exists in African music itself. Music contains not only single-layer beat rhythms and multi-layer beat rhythms that phonology can explain, but also beat rhythms with three or four layers. These developed in the genre of funk from the 1970s onward and influenced the music of later periods. Here I call this weak-beat precedence with three or more layers African-type-rhythm weak-beat precedence.

African-type-rhythm weak-beat precedence is thought to lie beyond the domain of language rhythm, so it is not handled in pronunciation practice. It is handled in practice from metadivision onward.

Syllable-Timed-Rhythm Isochrony Competence

Syllable-timed rhythm has the rule that even if the number of consonants increases or decreases, the timing at which vowels appear always remains equal. This is called isochrony. Here it is specifically called syllable-timed-rhythm isochrony in order to distinguish it from the stress-timed isochrony explained next. The Rhythmochronic Competence that recognizes this is syllable-timed-rhythm isochrony competence.

Stress-Timed-Rhythm Isochrony Competence

Stress-timed rhythm has the rule that even if the number of syllables attached before and after changes, the interval between stressed syllables always remains equal. This is called isochrony. Here it is specifically called stress-timed-rhythm isochrony in order to distinguish it from the syllable-timed isochrony explained above. The Rhythmochronic Competence that recognizes this is stress-timed-rhythm isochrony competence.

Table of contents

Offbeat Count Theory