节奏（英语：Rhythm）是一种以一定速度的快慢的节拍，主要是运用速度上的快慢和音调上的高低把它们组合到一起。例如，2/2拍就是强/弱，也就是我们常听到的“嘭恰”，那幺3/4拍是强/弱/弱，也就是“嘭恰恰”，我们常听到的圆舞曲大部分就都是3/4拍的了，4/4拍是强/弱/渐强/渐弱。节奏可以独立被欣赏，例如锣鼓演奏。节奏也可以成为旋律音乐的骨架。

节奏的组成:

1.模式的规则与不规则 2.声音的长短 3.声音的强弱 4.声音的有无

Rhythm (from Greek ῥυθμός, rhythmos, "any regular recurring motion, symmetry" (Liddell and Scott 1996)) generally means a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions" (Anon. 1971, 2537). This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time can apply to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or frequency of anything from microseconds to millions of years.