In which my younger daughter teaches me musical time (And I keep thinking 2×3 equals 3×2 = 6. Or is it 1/2-1/3 = 1/6?)pic.twitter.com/o0Qv0lRsg0
To a poet, the distinction is between six syllables as two dactyls (which is what you get with 6/8) and six syllables as three trochees (which is what you get with 3/4.) 6/8 therefore refers to a duple rhythm, with two stressed beats per line, and 3/4 to a triple one, with three.
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Musicians use the word "hemiola" to refer to the alternation or layering of duple and triple rhythms. Certain composers were especially fond of the effect, and used it extensively. Here is an exquisite example from Brahms, in 6/4 alternating with 3/2:http://bit.ly/2Gl8ahL
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It may be that the fascination of hemiola lies precisely in its subtlety; it's one of those musical phenomena that one hardly notices until it's pointed out explicitly -- whereupon one notices it everywhere.
End of conversation
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