Editing Metre (music) (section)

==Metre in dance music==
{{anchor|Meter in dance music}}
{{unreferenced section|date=October 2020}}
[[File:Waltz rhythms.PNG|right|thumb|400px|Typical figures of the waltz rhythm.{{sfn|Scruton|1997}}]]
[[File:Gavotte rhythm.png|right|thumb|300x300px]]
{{listen|type=music
 | header = Dance from ''[[Terpsichore (1612)|Terpsichore]]'' ([[Michael Praetorius]], 1612)
 | filename    = Dances from Terpsichore - 6. Volte by Praetorius.ogg
 | title       = "Volte"
 | description = Includes regular metre followed by an irregular metre
}}
Metre is often essential to any style of dance music, such as the [[waltz]] or [[tango music|tango]], that has instantly recognizable patterns of beats built upon a characteristic tempo and bar. The [[Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing]] defines the tango, for example, as to be danced in {{music|time|2|4}} time at approximately 66 beats per minute. The basic slow step forwards or backwards, lasting for one beat, is called a "slow", so that a full "right–left" step is equal to one {{music|time|2|4}} bar.{{sfn|Anon.|1983|p={{page needed|date=August 2021}}}}

But step-figures such as turns, the corte and walk-ins also require "quick" steps of half the duration, each entire figure requiring 3–6 "slow" beats. Such figures may then be "amalgamated" to create a series of movements that may synchronise to an entire musical section or piece. This can be thought of as an equivalent of [[prosody (poetry)|prosody]] (see also: [[prosody (music)]]).