Rytmen følger takten.

Because they are both in the definite singular form.

In Norwegian, instead of usually putting a separate word like the in front of the noun, you often add the definiteness to the end of the noun:

• en rytme = a rhythm

• rytmen = the rhythm

• en takt = a beat / a bar / a pulse
• takten = the beat

So Rytmen følger takten is literally structured like:

• rhythm-the follows beat-the

which corresponds to The rhythm follows the beat.

The dictionary forms are the indefinite singular forms:

• en rytme
• en takt

That means both nouns are typically common gender nouns, which usually take en in the singular.

Useful full forms:

• en rytme → rytmen → rytmer → rytmene
• en takt → takten → takter → taktene

So if you want to learn vocabulary from this sentence, the base words are rytme and takt.

Følger is the present tense of å følge.

• å følge = to follow
• følger = follow / follows

In this sentence, it means follows because the subject is singular:

• Rytmen følger takten = The rhythm follows the beat

A few useful forms of the verb are:

• å følge = to follow
• følger = follow/follows
• fulgte = followed
• har fulgt = have/has followed

Because Norwegian usually marks definiteness by attaching it to the noun itself.

English:

• the rhythm
• the beat

Norwegian:

• rytmen
• takten

This is one of the biggest differences English speakers notice early on. In many simple sentences, the definite ending does the job of English the.

There are cases where Norwegian also uses a separate determiner like den, det, or de, but in a simple sentence like this, the suffix alone is enough.

In this sentence, Rytmen is the subject and takten is the object.

That is mainly shown by word order:

• Rytmen = the thing doing the action
• følger = the action
• takten = the thing being followed

So the pattern is:

• Subject + Verb + Object

Norwegian does not usually mark this with special case endings the way some other languages do. Word order is very important.

Yes, but the meaning or emphasis may change, and Norwegian has V2 word order in main clauses.

The normal neutral order is:

• Rytmen følger takten.

You can move an element to the front for emphasis, but then the verb still has to stay in the second position. For example:

• Takten følger rytmen.
  This is a different meaning: The beat follows the rhythm.

You could also front an adverbial in a longer sentence, but with this short sentence, the standard order is the most natural.

They are related, but not identical.

• rytme = rhythm
• takt = often beat, time, or sometimes bar/measure, depending on context

A learner-friendly way to think about it is:

• rytme is the overall rhythmic pattern
• takt is the regular pulse or beat

So Rytmen følger takten suggests that the rhythm aligns with or follows the beat.

Because music vocabulary can vary by context, takt can have slightly different translations in different sentences.

A rough guide:

• Rytmen: the y is not like English y. It is a rounded front vowel, somewhat like saying ee while rounding your lips.
• følger: ø is also a vowel English does not really have. It is somewhat like the vowel in British bird, but with rounded lips.
• takten: this is usually easier for English speakers; the a is more like ah than the English short a.

A rough approximation might be:

• RÜTM-en FURL-ger TAK-ten

But that is only approximate. The hardest sounds here for English speakers are usually:

• y in rytmen
• ø in følger

Here it takes a direct object, just like English follow often does.

• Rytmen følger takten.
• The rhythm follows the beat.

So there is no preposition needed here.

An English speaker might be tempted to think of phrases like in time with, but in this sentence Norwegian simply uses the verb directly with the object.

Because følger is the finite verb form used in the present tense.

In Norwegian, many verbs form the present tense by adding -r:

• å komme → kommer
• å lære → lærer
• å følge → følger

So:

• å følge = infinitive, to follow
• følger = present tense, follows / follow

That is why the full sentence uses følger.

Yes, it can be understood literally in a musical context, but it could also be used more figuratively depending on context.

Literally:

• talking about music, dance, drumming, tempo, or movement

Figuratively:

• describing something that stays in sync with a pattern or pace

Still, without extra context, most learners would understand it first as a music-related sentence.