Isorhythm
noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A technique that arranges a fixed pattern of pitches with a repeating rhythmic pattern, used in some medieval motets and in more recent works. countable, uncountable
"In his motets Machaut strove for all-over patterns of rhythmic unity through isorhythms, a system codifying a few set patterns of time value, the number of repetitions of a pattern within a composition depending upon the desired length […]"
Example
More examples"In his motets Machaut strove for all-over patterns of rhythmic unity through isorhythms, a system codifying a few set patterns of time value, the number of repetitions of a pattern within a composition depending upon the desired length […]"
Etymology
Borrowed from German Isorhythmik, coined in 1904 by composer Friedrich Ludwig (1895-1970) (iso- + rhythm).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.