Bioacoustics & Ecoacoustics Glossary

beat

https://glossary.acousti.cloud/beat

en

"(1) music: rhythmic pulsation, as e.g. three beats to the bar, etc; Sotavalta extends for bird song as follows: the smallest rhythmic unit; a single rhythmic accent that can be repeated after successive intervals, regular or irregular. Between beats may be sub-beats of a different order.

(2) physics: the periodic variations of amplitude resulting from the addition of two periodic quantities of the same kind but slightly different frequency." [1]

Reference: [1] Broughton WB. Glossarial Index. In: Acoustic Behavior of Animals. Elsevier; 1963.