time signature question

[Nanakai]

every time someone replies to this thread,I feel like I have more and more to learn (more in depth than I thought). now I have to listen to that song as I have never even noticed that it wasn't in 4/4. what boggles my mind is that in high school I did my time with Rush and Yes, and still don't even notice this stuff.

Don't get bogged down with it. Mainly, you want to listen for how an even meter feels vs how an odd meter feels. The notation stuff comes easier later.

This reminds me of an interview I read somewhere with Danny Carey of Tool, who said that he doesn't really think about what time he's playing in, he just goes by feel.

[vincenti]

[quote="michael2"][quote="vincenti"][quote="michael2"]okay, really trying hard to get this concept. can you guys tell me how you hear it in 3/8? how are you counting? is it different than how I counted it above? fascinating as someone else told me that they heard it in 6/4.

thanks on the nice comments about the beat itself. :)[/quote]
Sure, if we start on 11 seconds in when the first pad chord is played and you count 123 123 then the next chord plays on the 1 after those 6 beats. So it's usually one(kick)two three(kick),one(kick)two three(kick)[chord pad change!)((kick two kick, kick two kick) so it could be considered 6/8 or any multiple of that. But I usually hear everything in the smallest common denominator when I try to figure stuff like that out. There's a way to hear this in 6/4 and 6/8 is "the same thing technically" but I feel this as a triplet rhythm and then 6/8(3/8 would be closer to the technically "correct" one. But if people hear it as 6/4 they aren't hearing it as a triplet rhythm. Both of those are right tho, thats just a perceptive thing, it's like if you hear the beats "equally" or if you hear the beats accented like 1! (2) (3) 1!(2) (3)**triplets** or if you hear it 1 2 3 1 2 3, really is just a matter of how the listener percieves it. Hope that helps[/quote]

okay I understand that. is it safe to assume that most people count the time by the overall sound then instead of the beat? guess I should try writing something in another time, but starting with the melodic content instead of the beat.[/quote]

It's safe to assume that most people will count a lot of stuff like this differently but that they will share some rhythmic elements in their final opinion of the time signature. 6/4 or 6/8 are both perfectly valid, however I myself am very inclined to hear triplets. And as far as writing music goes, write in whatever time you want and experiment, it doesn't matter if you don't know what time signature you're using if you can feel the beat. I've written pieces in that has one bar 9/8 into 5/4 alternating for 20 bars just by trying to write what I hear in my head. Keep writing man I enjoyed the beat! Have fun

[JumpingJackFlash]

Topics like this are better placed on the Music Theory forum.

My Introduction to Time-Signatures might be helpful.

[michael2]

Topics like this are better placed on the Music Theory forum.

My Introduction to Time-Signatures might be helpful.

you may be right. I briefly considered it, but posted it here as it was originally a pretty general question (the discussion just grew out of that). my level of theory comprehension is pretty embarrassing, so not sure that it wouldn't be just another irritating question on the theory forum.

i will read your article now, thanks for the link (and for taking the time to write the thing in the first place).

[JumpingJackFlash]

not sure that it wouldn't be just another irritating question on the theory forum.

Not at all, questions like this are what the forum should be about.

The irritating 'questions' are the ones that start "work out the chords in this for me", or questions where someone wants to leapfrog over years of music education, can't be bothered to do any work for themselves, and demands to be instantly great at something they are so obviously out of their depth with. E.g. "I have no no idea how to drive a car, but I'm going to be the world's fastest racing driver next week, what YouTube video do I need to watch to accomplish that"?

[michael2]

you guys have been super helpful (and very kind and forgiving in tone), much appreciated. some good food for thought. i'm thinking that all of my new music will be written in odd signatures, just to get a feel for it all and to learn. it's interesting how the stuff is so fluid, and I think the math analogy holds true. Starting to dig in a little deeper every day; actually the wife and kids are leaving town for a week so I have the perfect opportunity. Thanks again.