The musical mind has had the opportunity to tune in to the differences between meters through Rhythm Discrimination Activities. It has become aware of the distinguishing characteristics of each meter—the unique beat groupings that define each meter, the organization of beats. The musical mind has addressed the difference between meters. Now we invite the musical mind in a little closer to address the sameness across meters. The musical mind has a “sound understanding” of the different beat groupings for each meter. The thinking mind might verbalize those differences as even macro beats divided into two or three micro beats for Duple, Triple and Combined meters, and uneven macro beats divided into two and three micro beats for Unusual Paired and Unusual Unpaired meters. The challenge now is for the musical mind to explore how those beats function within each meter—beat function, which is the same across meters, whatever the unique beat grouping.

Macro beats are the big beats, whether in Duple, Triple, or Unusual Paired or Unpaired meters. Micro beats are the divisions of macro beats in all meters. Similarly, division patterns, rests, ties, and upbeats function the same in each meter, though beats are grouped uniquely within each meter. The musical mind is able to discriminate differences between meters, and to generalize similarities across meters, both aurally and with syllables. Rhythm Discrimination Activities provide opportunities for the musical mind to exercise and practice these capabilities. The musical mind may well beat us to the process, as it begins to notice differences between meters and sameness across meters aurally. Rhythm syllables give voice to rhythm knowing, highlighting those differences in sound between meters, as well as the likeness across meters. Rhythm Discrimination Activities invite the musical mind to become aware of its discrimination of differences between meters, and then its generalization of sameness across meters, developing greater command of its own knowing.

The beauty of the musical mind’s awareness of sameness across meters is that every meaningful encounter in any meter strengthens audiation in every other meter, as beat functions are the same across meters. Learning division patterns in Duple meter, for example, makes learning division patterns in Triple meter easier, which in turn, puts division patterns in Unusual Paired meter within reach even with young children. The musical mind learning division patterns in Unusual Paired meter understands through sound that the division patterns function the same in Unusual Paired meter in relation to macro and micro beats, as they did in Duple and Triple meters. The musical mind generalizes the sameness of beat function across meters, while exercising its “sound understanding” of the differences between meters.

The wonder of the musical mind in discriminating differences between meters while generalizing sameness across meters is perhaps most stunning in the process of music reading, when learning to read and write division patterns in Duple meter, for example, transfers to learning with ease to read and write divisions in Triple meter and then Unusual Paired meters.