Meter is typically thought of as the repeating pattern of strong and weak beats in a piece of music.

In a newer view of meter, it’s a relationship of pulses we experience, felt in time in our brains and bodies.

An awareness of these ideas may lead to methods that improve how meter is taught.

Several months ago, an email from Australia arrived in my inbox—it’s not every day I receive a letter from Down Under—and this is how our across-the-globe conversation got started. Andrea Calilhanna, a doctoral candidate in music education, introduced herself. She explained that she had read my book, Music Between Your Ears, and invited me to be a guest on her “Let’s Talk” music podcast.1 As we planned and recorded the podcast, I learned that Andrea has a keen interest in rhythm, especially musical meter. After the interview, I returned the favor by asking if I could interview her for my blog about her background and her research. This post is the result.

A Fascination With Meter

Music has played a central role in Andrea Calilhanna's life for many years. She studied piano, saxophone, and music theory at the Queensland Conservatorium, earning a diploma in piano performance; she then completed a teacher training program. While raising her family, she performed with various chamber ensembles, rock bands, and jazz groups. She has also taught piano for over 40 years. As a teacher, she noticed that many students struggle with timing and expression, so she began to search for better ways to teach this essential skill.

As her children grew up, she returned to school to earn a master's degree in music at the University of Sydney. Attending lectures on meter by Professor Richard Cohn, visiting from Yale University, she found the answer to her search. Cohn’s meter classes led Andrea to rethink how she taught meter. She began applying his theories with school-age students, helping them recognize and perform meter accurately. The positive results marked a turning point for her teaching and research. Her master’s thesis examined how students learn meter as a relationship among pulses, rather than simply as a notation........

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