Meter (music)

The meter (or metre) of music is its rhythmic structure, the patterns of accents heard in regularly recurring measures of stressed and unstressed beats (arsis and thesis) at the frequency of the music's pulse.

A variety of systems exist throughout the world for organising and playing metrical music, such as the Indian system of tala and similar systems in Arabian and African music.

Western music inherited the concept of metre from poetry (Scholes 1977; Latham 2002b) where it denotes: the number of lines in a verse; the number of syllables in each line; and the arrangement of those syllables as long or short, accented or unaccented (Scholes 1977; Latham 2002b). The first coherent system of rhythmic notation in modern Western music was based upon rhythmic modes derived from the basic types of metrical unit in the quantitative meter of classical ancient Greek and Latin poetry (Hoppin 1978, 221).

Later music for dances such as the pavane and galliard consisted of musical phrases to accompany a fixed sequence of basic steps with a defined tempo and time signature. The English word "measure", originally an exact or just amount of time, came to denote either a poetic rhythm, a bar of music, or else an entire melodic verse or dance (Merriam-Webster 2015) involving sequences of notes, words and/or movements that may last four, eight or sixteen bars.

Metre

The metre, or meter (American spelling), (from the Greek noun μέτρον, "measure") is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). The SI unit symbol is m. The metre is defined as the distance travelled by light in a specific fraction (1/299 792 458) of a second.

The metre was originally defined in 1793 as one ten-millionth of the distance from the equator to the North Pole. In 1889, it was redefined in terms of a prototype metre bar (the actual bar used was subsequently changed twice). In 1960, the metre was redefined in terms of a certain number of wavelengths of a certain emission line of krypton-86. In 1983, the current definition was adopted.

The imperial inch is defined as 0.0254 metres (2.54 centimetres or 25.4 millimetres). One metre is about 3 ³⁄₈ inches longer than a yard, i.e. about 39 ³⁄₈ inches.

Spelling

Metre is the standard spelling of the metric unit for length in all English-speaking nations except the USA, which uses meter.

Measuring devices (such as ammeter, speedometer) are spelled "-meter" in all countries. The word "meter", signifying any such device, has the same derivation as the word "metre", denoting the unit of length.

Music

Music is an art form and cultural activity whose medium is sound and silence. The common elements of music are pitch (which governs melody and harmony), rhythm (and its associated concepts tempo, meter, and articulation), dynamics (loudness and softness), and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture (which are sometimes termed the "color" of a musical sound). Different styles or types of music may emphasize, de-emphasize or omit some of these elements. Music is performed with a vast range of instruments and with vocal techniques ranging from singing to rapping, and there are solely instrumental pieces, solely vocal pieces and pieces that combine singing and instruments. The word derives from Greek μουσική (mousike; "art of the Muses"). In its most general form, the activities describing music as an art form include the production of works of music (songs, tunes, symphonies, and so on), the criticism of music, the study of the history of music, and the aesthetic examination of music. Ancient Greek and Indian philosophers defined music as tones ordered horizontally as melodies and vertically as harmonies. Common sayings such as "the harmony of the spheres" and "it is music to my ears" point to the notion that music is often ordered and pleasant to listen to. However, 20th-century composer John Cage thought that any sound can be music, saying, for example, "There is no noise, only sound."

Maître Gims

Gandhi Djuna (born 6 May 1986), better known by his stage name Maître Gims, is a Congolese rapper and singer who has lived most of life and made his career in France. He is a member of the hip-hop group Sexion d'Assaut and also has developed a solo career with a major release, his solo album Subliminal.

Career

Gandhi Djuna, born in Kinshasa (DRC) with his brother, immigrated to France when he was just two years old. Growing up in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris, he later moved to the 9th arrondissement and eventually the 19th arrondissement. Taking the name of Gims, he rapped at college with his friends of Sexion d'Assaut while studying communication and graphical arts. He also worked part-time as a courrier at night.

He recorded his first track with Sexion d'Assaut "Coup 2 Pression" and worked with JR in the Prototype 3015 duo project. He decided to add Maître to his name Gims and also used the pseudonyme "le Fléau" ("the Bane"). He also worked on a number of independent releases, and a mixtape La Terre du Milieu ("Middle-Earth")as part of 3e Prototype after taking Dawala as manager. In 2007, he also worked as producer, wrote instrumental pieces and released his maxi Pour ceux qui dorment les yeux ouverts ("For those who sleep with open eyes"). On the maxi were tracks with Sexion d'Assaut, rapper Koma (from Scred Connexion) and a singer Carole. Continuing to record tracks with Sexion d'Assaut at two Inch'All Star battles, he became a well-known French freestyler. He also took part with 3e Prototype in a new street album called Le Renouveau ("The Rebirth").