Illustration of metric accent
metric accent
- Definition:
(From Schachter):
The heightened attention attracted by the boundary points of regularly
articulated equal segments of time. Metric accents can be perceived
only in relation to non-accents, which do not coincide with the
beginning of the perceived equal spans. Unlike all other types of
emphasis, metric accents "arise out of temporal position alone and not
from any special emphasis in the composition or performance. ...And even
when sonic emphases coincide --as they often will --with [metric]
accents, the emphases and the accent produced by perceived time spans
are two separate events." (5)
