time signature question

[michael2]

hopefully this question isn't too dumb. I have been making a beat and it doesn't seem to be in 4/4; I'm an idiot at time signatures and can't figure out what it is. not that it matters too much, but it's getting to be a pain in the butt figuring out where to place accents on the piano roll. was hoping someone could help me figure it out:

1 ee and a 2 ee and a 3 ee and a 4 ee and a 5 ee and a 6 ee and a sev en and a 8 ee and a
1 ee and a 2 ee and a 3 ee and a 4 ee and a 5 ee and a 6 ee and a sev en and a 8 ee and a

i only wrote it that way as I remember a drummer I used to play with counted like that. if that's not helpful I'll bounce out a bit and stick on soundcloud or something. thanks.

[Nanakai]

I think you'll have to bounce it to be sure, but if that's how you're counting it, then you've got a 4/4 beat. Try omitting the "ee" and the "a" when you count and see if that makes more sense.

1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and...

It should feel twice as fast.

[michael2]

thanks. i'll bounce it out.

[xoxos]

given the mnemonic, i'd expect the rhythm is 12th notes, not 16ths or 8ths..

3 12th notes = 1 quarter note

swing rhythms often use notes on the first and the third and omit the 2nd step.. eg. XoX XoX, i believe the "1 ee and a" is a count of 6, or half a measure.

always do your own counting

[Nanakai]

given the mnemonic, i'd expect the rhythm is 12th notes, not 16ths or 8ths..

3 12th notes = 1 quarter note

swing rhythms often use notes on the first and the third and omit the 2nd step.. eg. XoX XoX, i believe the "1 ee and a" is a count of 6, or half a measure.

always do your own counting

Triplets are usually counted "1 and uh" or "1 trip-let". "1 ee and a", if it's how the OP is counting, is certainly 16th notes (4 counts per 1/4 note). It might be swung, but that doesn't change how it's counted.

[michael2]

i really need to read a book on this stuff. i can play pretty much anything by ear, but this stuff makes me feel like an idiot.

[Nanakai]

i really need to read a book on this stuff. i can play pretty much anything by ear, but this stuff makes me feel like an idiot.

Nonsense. There's nothing about learning a skill that makes you an idiot. I still have more to learn, myself.

Reading a book probably won't help you. Just get a reference and practice counting rhythms by clapping your hands.

http://www.philtulga.com/counter.html
http://www.studybass.com/lessons/rhythm ... t-rhythms/

Always count out loud. Get a metronome or some other way of hearing a steady beat. Focus on practicing this for 5 minutes every day. You'll be surprised how much you understand in a week's time.

[michael2]

i really need to read a book on this stuff. i can play pretty much anything by ear, but this stuff makes me feel like an idiot.

Nonsense. There's nothing about learning a skill that makes you an idiot. I still have more to learn, myself.

Reading a book probably won't help you. Just get a reference and practice counting rhythms by clapping your hands.

http://www.philtulga.com/counter.html
http://www.studybass.com/lessons/rhythm ... t-rhythms/

Always count out loud. Get a metronome or some other way of hearing a steady beat. Focus on practicing this for 5 minutes every day. You'll be surprised how much you understand in a week's time.

thanks, that's good advice. i will look for something that I can do in the car. has to be an app available.

[wesleyt]

Metronome for iOS by Frozen Ape Pty. is marvelous.

[michael2]

Metronome for iOS by Frozen Ape Pty. is marvelous.

awesome. thanks a bunch.

[waveheavy]

One, two, three, four = 1/4 notes

One and two and three and four and = 1/8th notes

One e and ah two e and ah three e an ah four e and ah = 16th notes

Triplets are like da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da

[michael2]

One, two, three, four = 1/4 notes

One and two and three and four and = 1/8th notes

One e and ah two e and ah three e an ah four e and ah = 16th notes

Triplets are like da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da

haha. that much I know. it's the odd time signatures that confuse me. I can play it, get into it, appreciate it, but when someone says 5/8, I have no idea what they are counting.

i'll get that metronome app tonight.

[vincenti]

[quote="michael2"]
haha. that much I know. it's the odd time signatures that confuse me. I can play it, get into it, appreciate it, but when someone says 5/8, I have no idea what they are counting.

i'll get that metronome app tonight.[/quote]
Compound or odd meters are usually counted in it's smallest possible forms. 5/8 for example is either counted 12345(8th note bpm) or 12,123(=5) or 123,12 or 12121121211 but that's just the plain time signature with 5 rhythmic values per measure(one per beat). As soon as you get more subdivisions you use the standard 1e+a(one ee and ah)or whatever the subdivision is. Counting odd signatures isn't hard at all, it does require some practice but in essence you make it into comprehensible components by applying the kind of thinking described above.

Some phrasing or stress of accents is often taken into account when "shortening" odd signatures. Say you have something like 7/8, you can count this 123,1234 or 1234,123 or 1212123 or 1212312 or 1231212 each having their own feels depending on where you put the "1"'s. You do that by looking more closely at what the rhythmic content is, or how the musical phrase is layed out(for example if a phrase has 7 8th notes in 7/8, three of them are raising the pitch going up (Re-Mi-Fa) and four down(Fa-Mi-Re-Do) you'd count that 123,1234 or 123,1212).

Hope that helps.

[BertKoor]

1 ee and a 2 ee and a 3 ee and a 4 ee and a 5 ee and a 6 ee and a sev en and a 8 ee and a

That looks straight forward. My guess is that the time signature is just 4/4 but you have accents or syncopation which is not reflected in the text.

Can you post a small mp3 file how this beat sounds?

[michael2]

haha. that much I know. it's the odd time signatures that confuse me. I can play it, get into it, appreciate it, but when someone says 5/8, I have no idea what they are counting.

i'll get that metronome app tonight.

Compound or odd meters are usually counted in it's smallest possible forms. 5/8 for example is either counted 12345(8th note bpm) or 12,123(=5) or 123,12 or 12121121211 but that's just the plain time signature with 5 rhythmic values per measure(one per beat). As soon as you get more subdivisions you use the standard 1e+a(one ee and ah)or whatever the subdivision is. Counting odd signatures isn't hard at all, it does require some practice but in essence you make it into comprehensible components by applying the kind of thinking described above.

Some phrasing or stress of accents is often taken into account when "shortening" odd signatures. Say you have something like 7/8, you can count this 123,1234 or 1234,123 or 1212123 or 1212312 or 1231212 each having their own feels depending on where you put the "1"'s. You do that by looking more closely at what the rhythmic content is, or how the musical phrase is layed out(for example if a phrase has 7 8th notes in 7/8, three of them are raising the pitch going up (Re-Mi-Fa) and four down(Fa-Mi-Re-Do) you'd count that 123,1234 or 123,1212).

Hope that helps.

that does help. I think it is one of those things that I do unconsciously and need to learn why and how. as i get older and lose any desire to be a professional musician, I have grown more interested in what makes things tick; developing a method to the madness can't be a bad thing.

1 ee and a 2 ee and a 3 ee and a 4 ee and a 5 ee and a 6 ee and a sev en and a 8 ee and a

That looks straight forward. My guess is that the time signature is just 4/4 but you have accents or syncopation which is not reflected in the text.

Can you post a small mp3 file how this beat sounds?

that's exactly what was happening. I muted a few parts and it looped perfectly.