48.91The major conceptual upgrade

Earlier, rhythmic tension meant:

offbeat attack.

Then:

odd grouping.

Then:

odd meter.

Now we can distinguish:

Metric complexity

the meter itself is unusual.

Grouping complexity

accents reorganize the meter.

Cyclic complexity

a repeating motif has a period that conflicts with the bar.

Phrase complexity

larger phrases have lengths that conflict with formal symmetry.

These are four different tools.