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While more technical definitions exist for "hemiola," perhaps the simplest definition of “hemiola” is the use of rhythm to make a piece of music (or section of a piece of music) sound as if it were composed in a meter other than its actual written meter. For instance, in a piece of music written in 3/4 time, if one section features a stream of continuous eighth notes with strong accents on the first and fourth eighth notes of every measure, the piece may sound as if it is in 6/8 during that section instead of 3/4. For a more complicated hemiola, one could compose a piece in 4/4 time and feature a section with continuous eighth notes, with an accent on every sixth eighth note, to achieve the aural effect of 5/8 time.
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