TIME SIGNATURES
Skip Drinkwater
1,694 Posts
what do the bottom & top numbers represent exactly? does anyone know of an online site that explains various time signatures with audio clips to demonstrate them? many thanks.
Comments
The number on top is the number of notes per measure, and the bottom number is what kind of note.[/b]
3/4 is 3 quarter notes per measure.
5/2 is 5 half notes per measure.
6/8 is 6 eighth notes per measure.[/b]
It's a little more detailed than that. The top number denotes number of BEATS per measure, the bottom number denotes WHICH NOTE GETS THE BEAT.
So 3/4 is 3 beats per measure, with 1/4 notes getting a 1 count. That means a 1/2 note would get 2 counts, a full note would get 4 counts, a 1/8 note gets half a count, etc. etc.
Think of it like this: MIDI is music theory for synths. The way MIDI tells the synth to play what note, for how long, and with what kind of attributes, is the same way that written music tells a musician or singer the same thing.
"Oh, I play a C note for 1.5 beats a la glissando, then crescendo on a B flat for another 1.5 beats with a vibratto."
Learning music theory - even basic stuff like time signatures - can really help your sequencing and programming.
A scale is a progression of notes played in sequence. Musicians and singers usually warm up doing scales - Do Re Me Fa So La Ti Do is a scale.
A key is kinda like what is your base note for the entire song you are playing/singing. So a song can be in a key of say B flat, and B flat is your "starting point" for lack of better words. So depending on what key a song is in, you either have to change your hand placement on the keys or strings, or re-tune your instrument to be able to reach all of the notes necessary in the song.
thats what i thought, please break it down for us!
i'm still learning.
Most music is 4/4. Thats the norm - your basic four on the floor stuff, a good, easy to understand beat.
Queen - Another One Bites The Dust (why I went for that as an example I've no idea) - 4/4
Mission impossible was 5/4.
I cant think of a 3/4, but it basically goes 'boom tap tap - boom tap tap....'
Sometimes people like to combine time signtatures and do one type in the verse and another in the chorus, those tracks are real listeners, not your average toe tappers...
a good place to start: http://www.georgerussell.com/lc.html (the book is only $125)
the bottom number refers to the note (or rest) per beat - whole, half, quarter, eight, sixteenth, thirtysecond, sixtyfourth, etc... so, no, there is no "3" (no "third" note/rest... that would be a dotted half note/rest)
still confused??? i am.
monty, random curious question - had you ever met john coltrane?
i hung with Elvin several times. my favorite Elvin story is; i was giving him a ride home from a gig at about 4 or 5 in the morning, and i stopped at a red light. he cussed me out for not running it, and got out of the car and walked home!
thats exactly it, so dont be confused, no need, lol.. 3/4 is 3 crotchet beats per bar. 5/4 is 5 crotchet beats per bar.
n.
1. An odd, whimsical, or stubborn notion.
2. Music. See quarter note.
3. Obsolete. A small hook or hooklike structure.
Yes you can have a 3/3. You can have an anything/anything, it would just be darn difficult to listen to if it was too complicated.
Your 3/3 would go like this
1 2 3, 1 2 3, 1 2 3 (now back to the start (of the loop) again)
1 2 3, 1 2 3, 1 2 3
To relate this to a 4/4 - another one bites the dust (why do I keep going for that??) goes......
1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4 (now back to the start (of the loop) again)
1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4
So to simplify the whole x/x, you could put it like this:
Sixtoo music = phrygian mode in 3/4s to 12 bar cycles (so you can do rounds with the bass in one signature and drums in 4/4).
I suck at theory and will never find a fool-proof method to improv on the bass.