Timescale

Music can be experienced on macro (large-scale) and micro (small-scale) time durations. Macro durations of musical time relate to a work's overall shape and proportions. This includes considerations of structure and the development of a piece through sections, whether a song, album, symphony, opera, or musical. In the same way that a story may be structured into books, chapters, paragraphs, and sentences, music can be structured into movements, acts, verses, choruses, and phrases.

Micro durations of musical time affect the tempo and surface energy, which is the feeling of forward momentum from one moment to the next. These are felt in the relatively quick pulse, metre, and rhythm durations. They can be thought of as the motors that drive a piece of music, helping to establish its character or vibe. In fact, they are also the foundational building blocks of virtually all music.