Rythmé

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff with or after a tempo word — Assez animé et très rythmé; Gai, rythmé; très sec et bien rythmé — and lasting for the passage it heads. The unaccented rythme is also the noun “rhythm” (d’un rythme souple), so the accent tells the reader which is meant.

Also spelled: rythme

How Composers Use It

Rhythmic: it asks for a clearly articulated pulse and crisp rhythmic figures, not a faster tempo. Debussy and Ravel use it in quick, dance-like music (Pour le piano, Alborada del gracioso), often with très or bien for emphasis. Use it when the risk is a blurred, over-pedalled or smoothed-out rhythm; if you want accents, add marqué.

Example

Lili Boulanger, D’un matin de printemps, piccolo, m. 96: “Gai, rythmé”, with the piano part marked “très rythmé” in the same bar.

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