Metallo (It.)
Metal; a metallic quality of tone. Bel metallo di voce, fine, "ringing" quality of voice. Method, Méthode (Fr.) (meh-tode), Metodo (It.). (I) System of teaching. (2) Manner of using the voice, or of performing on an instrument.
Metre or Meter [Gr., metron, a measure].
Properly belongs to poetry, from whence it is transferred to music. In poetry it has two meanings: (1) As applied to a group of syllables; (2) as applied to the number of these groups in a line. English prosody recognizes four groups of syllables, called feet: (I) The Iambus, consisting of a short or unaccented syllable followed by a long or accented syllable, as, be-fore; (2) the Trochee, which is just the reverse, as, mu-sic; (3) the Anapest, two short followed by a ب long, as, re-pro-duce; (4) the Dactyl, which is just the reverse, as, fear-ful-ly. As applied to lines (verses), Long Meter signifies four iambic feet in every line; Common Meter (also called Ballad Meter) an alternation of four and three iambic feet; Short Meter, two lines of three feet, one of four, and one of three in every stanza.
Trochaic, Anapestic, and Dactyllic Meters are indicated by figures giving the number of syllables in each line, as 8, 6, 8, 6, etc It is important to the musician to become thoroughly familiar with prosody, lest he fall into the too common error of setting short syllables to the accented beats of the measure, or the reverse.