Ritmico

What it means

Ritmico means “rhythmic” and calls for a performance in which the rhythm stands out distinctly. The metric accents and the characteristic figures are to be drawn clearly, the pulse perceptible.

The marking often stands where there is a danger that the rhythm blurs — for instance in a bound passage in which the rhythm is nonetheless important, or after a free section followed by a metrically marked one. The phrase ben ritmico intensifies the demand.

Ritmico differs from rigoroso, which calls for strict adherence to tempo, through its emphasis: it is not only about exactness but about audible profile. It differs from marcato, which accents every note, in that the rhythmic shape is accented, not the individual note.

In the notation

The word stands in italics above the staff and applies until a new marking. It is often found over figures with dotted rhythms, syncopations, or ostinato patterns whose effect depends on the exact rhythm.

Musical use

The marking is used in dance-like movements, in sections with ostinato figures, and in music whose character arises essentially from the rhythm. In twentieth-century music, in which rhythm gains weight as an independent means of shaping, it is especially frequent.

The instruction calls for a rhythmically distinct performance with an exact metre and clear accents. It is often found in twentieth-century music, in Bartók, Stravinsky, and in Latin American-influenced pieces, where rhythm plays the main role. Free stretchings and rubato are to be avoided; instead, accents, syncopations, and rests are to come out sharply. In slow movements, ritmico can mean making the pulse clearly perceptible despite the calm tempo.

Performance practice

Work out the characteristic figures precisely: dotted rhythms sharp, syncopations distinct, rests exact. Accent the strong beats without accenting every note. Keep the tempo stable. And practise difficult rhythms first without pitches, only clapped or spoken, until they sit securely.