Musical Meter and Phrase

To get a sense of how meter is created clap a steady beat with your hands. Begin clapping louder on one beat, and softer on the following beat. Repeat this pattern again and again.

The process of patterning beats with a stressed, accented beat (a louder and/or longer sound in comparison to other surrounding sounds) followed by a series of weaker beats is called meter.

The stronger accented beat of a pattern (the louder or longer one) or Count one is known as the downbeat.

Duple meter are counted 1-2 | 1-2

Triple meter are counted 1-2-3 | 1-2-3 | 1-2-3 | 1-2-3

Quadruple meter are counted 1-2-3 4 | 1-2-3-4 | 1-2-3-4 | 1-2-3-4

There are two types of phrasing in songs – lyrical and musical.

Like Sentence.

Phrasing is defined in the dictionary as "a sequence of words intended to have meaning". Its definition in relation to music is "a short passage or segment, often consisting of four measures or forming part of a larger unit."