What's going on timewise in this example?

[kenny saunders]

I'm fairly new to orchestral composition and I'm just working out notes from various film scores I like. But the bassline 'loop' in this section of one of HZ's Dune pieces is 7.5 bars, is that normal for classical or film music?

Is it because I've got the timing wrong, it seems to be about 92 bpm and when I play this back iver the actual track the notes change at the right time.


(you have to click on the link (not the thumbnail) - but it will start at the bit I mean)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5rCIcH ... TimS.Lucas

Screenshot 2023-01-08 205137.jpg

[jancivil]

There are 26 slow quarter note or we can call these half note beats.
There is no strong downbeat#. So, it doesn’t meet your expectation of… if it’s 4 that’s 6 and 1/2 bars. It could be 2 bars of 13, 13 bars of whichever denomination, or that Zimmer didn’t give a fvck.*

A whole lot of music in the world doesn’t care to be in 4/4, or about even-numbered groups of bars (or bars, period).
*: Could well be that here the length of the *cue* determined where it ends, and that’s that. #: AFAIC call it 26/4.

[kenny saunders]

There are 26 slow quarter note or we can call these half note beats.
There is no strong downbeat#. So, it doesn’t meet your expectation of… if it’s 4 that’s 6 and 1/2 bars. It could be 2 bars of 13, 13 bars of whichever denomination, or that Zimmer didn’t give a fvck.*

A whole lot of music in the world doesn’t care to be in 4/4, or about even-numbered groups of bars (or bars, period).
*: Could well be that here the length of the *cue* determined where it ends, and that’s that. #: AFAIC call it 26/4.

Well yeah I suppose for every doubling of this, it will remove, the half bar.

[jancivil]

I’m wasting my time.
There’s only a half a bar if it’s in 4. Being there is no discernible downbeat, or phrase that’s 4 beats long any more than it’s 5 (10) or 6 (12), or 13 or 14 for that matter definitively, there is no good reason to be conclusive.
No idea what “doubling” means there, & “remove the half a bar” only exists to double down on your supposition (which can’t work) so why ask the question. The length of the cue is probably determined by the time of the cue. It’s film music.

[BertKoor]

Mainly listening to the chants and beats, I'd say it's in 2/4 for 6 bars ending with one bar 3/4, on repeat. One quarter note is missing to make it a full 8 bars in 2/4.

In the end it doesn't matter where you draw the bar lines, this is odd. On purpose, for the alienating effect.

[kenny saunders]

I’m wasting my time.
There’s only a half a bar if it’s in 4. Being there is no discernible downbeat, or phrase that’s 4 beats long any more than it’s 5 (10) or 6 (12), or 13 or 14 for that matter definitively, there is no good reason to be conclusive.
No idea what “doubling” means there, & “remove the half a bar” only exists to double down on your supposition (which can’t work) so why ask the question. The length of the cue is probably determined by the time of the cue. It’s film music.

This whole album (sketchbook version) was never used in the film.

[kenny saunders]

Mainly listening to the chants and beats, I'd say it's in 2/4 for 6 bars ending with one bar 3/4, on repeat. One quarter note is missing to make it a full 8 bars in 2/4.

In the end it doesn't matter where you draw the bar lines, this is odd. On purpose, for the alienating effect.

I guess its just an unusual piece then, thats fine.

[jamcat]

I think it's in 13/4.

Since the movie is about an alien world, Hans Zimmer chose to use an alien time signature.

[jancivil]

The phrase lengths and the overlapping polyphony is where the musical definition lies. Where is all pretty original. Modeled somewhat on kind of early Renaissance polyphony in the religious choral music but deviating a_lot.

but if I had to guess the why, I picture him hearing some lines at x tempo, seeing from the SMPTE readout in Cubase it’ll be 26 then the cue gonna change; so make the decision and move forward.