Rhythmic drive and momentum
What Rhythmic drive and momentum means in Music A-Level, as defined for AQA.
Definitions of Rhythmic drive and momentum
Exam boards and our study guides word this term in slightly different ways. Learn the version your board uses.
Check what you remember
Read the wording for your board, then hide it and explain Rhythmic drive and momentum in your own words. Rough notes are fine. This is a self-check, with no mark or grade.
Reference: AQA
Established by composers employing ostinati, alongside building texture or creating harmonic stasis.
Relentless momentum that propels the music forward, alongside driving rhythmic vitality.
Topics that use Rhythmic drive and momentum
- Area of study 1: Western classical tradition 1650–1910 (compulsory) - Strand B: The operas of Mozart (AQA A-Level)
- Area of study 7: Art music since 1910 - Musical elements (AQA A-Level)
Related terms
- 20th-century chord structures
- 20th-century compositional techniques
- 20th-century rhythmic innovation
- A cappella
- Additive and subtractive processes
- Alternatives to functional tonality
- Atonality
- Atonality and tonality
Using Rhythmic drive and momentum in the exam
Check the command word and mark scheme for your exact question. After comparing your explanation with the reference, use the term in an answer on the linked topic. This practice does not predict an exam mark.
Practise Music questions
Create a free account to answer exam-style questions on this topic and get feedback on your answers.
A week of Premium from your first lesson · Then the free plan continues · No card, no charge