The Bar (music) reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004
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Bar (music)

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In musical terminology, a bar is a segment of time defined as a given number of beats of a given duration. It is the used the same as measure. A bar line is the line which lies between or separates bars. While many see bars and bar lines as arbitrary, others feel otherwise: "The bar line is much, much more than a mere accent, and I don't believe that it can be simulated by an accent, at least not in my music." - Igor Stravinsky (DeLone et. al. (Eds.), 1975, chap. 3).

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