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A time signature is simply the composer's way of telling you how s/he is subdividing the measure. So in 4/4 time, the composer imagines the measure divided into four beats, while in 8/8 time, the composer imagines the measure divided into eight beats. The difference is less in the strict timing and more in the feel or pulse of the music. Try counting ...

Go for a walk. Count each step, in twos or fours. Tread heavier on the ones. One two One two One two One two One two three four One two three four They feel different, don't they? This is the difference. And yet there is an equivalence between them. Walk at the same tempo, but count to four twice as fast, so you're stepping on the One and the three. One ...

I recommend listening to Dave Brubeck's Time Out. That whole record is an exploration of odd time signatures and unusual ways of subdividing rhythms, but in a way that still swings. Three of the more famous tracks, for example, are: "Blue Rondo a la Turk": This is in 9/8, which is an old time signature dating back to the Baroque period, used when a ...

I'm quite used to it by now, my point being that at one point, you can sort of feel this rhythm patterns. However, when you start a new time signature, it's good to break the bar up in smaller pieces. For instance, you can count a 7/8 as 2 times 2 and 1 time 3. Just tap your foot on the 1 when counting in your head the following pattern: 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 3. ...

The song "Killing Me Softly (With His Song)", by Roberta Flack and re-made by The Fugees, which your linked piano tutorial would (kind of) fit with, is in 4/4 time like most pop songs. The rhythm would be three eighth notes, one dotted quarter, one non-dotted quarter. In pseudo-notation: * * * * * 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & ... for ...

After a quick listen I see no reason not to just use 4/4. The beat is definitely even, so whatever time signature you go with you should stick with or at least similar times (e.g., 2/2). You certainly shouldn't be switching signatures almost every measure. It's hard to say where you went wrong here, especially since you didn't describe your method, but ...

The other answers are all essentially correct, but I think a critical point is missing. There aren't just fully "strong" and fully "weak" beats; there are also beats of medium strength (and other varieties). 4/4 is emphasized like this: ONE two three four Note the half-accent on the third beat, different from what slim mentioned. If you're playing ...

These numbers are time signatures. In brief, they tell you how many beats are in a measure. (This answer might not work as well for people not familiar with music that doesn't have a strong rhythmic component.) To start this off, think of a waltz. You might count it out like this: One two three one two three (and so on). That's 3/4 time; each measure is ...

For the most part, the time signature indicates what kind of feel the beat of the piece has. Consider waltzes, usually written in 3/4 – the beat goes ONE two three, ONE two three, ONE two three. Although you could write it as ONE two three, FOUR five six, ONE two three, FOUR five six with a time signature of 6/4, there's no point because the beat still ...

These two time signatures both indicate simple triple time (also known as waltz time). They are mainly used in the same genres: Formal dances such as waltzes, minuets, mazurka, and scherzi Country, R&B Western ballads sometimes pop All of these genres commonly use simple triple time i.e they have three beat per measure (usually with the first beat ...

The way this band is approaching odd times is by adding the remainder to some kind of easily digestible time signature. In terms of 17/16, they're playing it like 4/4, but adding one sixteenth to the end of the beat. The 9/8 thing is the same as adding an extra 8th note to the end of a 4/4 bar. This way you get the rhythm of 4/4 then they create tension ...

I'm a big, big fan of odd time signature. The thing is, there is not really any theory that I know of, it's all notation and counting/feeling, and notation is convention. Basically, the idea is you have a X/Y time signature, meaning you have X elements of value Y (generally 1/4 or 1/8 notes). That's about it. While Bryan's answer is perfectly valid, my ...

Even if a large orchestra in rehearsal is not getting a verbal count-off, the meter is stil getting set up by the conductor visually--it's just that in many cases the conductor won't bother giving more than a single cue because the ensemble doesn't need it. Certainly if it's fast asymmetric and mixed meter music, you'll see something a bit more active from ...

You can't really differentiate between them. 4/4 is most often emphasized like this: ONE two three four 6/8 like this: ONE two three four five six If you play triplets in 4/4 you get the exact same pattern as in 6/8. Similarly if you play dotted eighths in 6/8 you get the same pattern as 4/4. In general you should pick a time signature for the ...

If a computer plays them, they are the same. However, it may influence how a human player interprets it, even if they don't know anything about what it meant historically, because all those extra beams will make the score look thicker, less spacious, and the notes seem to be more connected. A good player should be able to find a working interpretation ...

You need to understand that flamenco rhythm is very different from classical or popular music (it has more in common with Indian Classical music and the concept of "Tala"). All flamencos talk about rhythm using the notion of "compas" - these are rhythmic "styles", that include a time structure, as well as a feel and a usual tempo. For example, Bulerias ...

Based on a quick survey of my flamenco music books, here is a quick survey: Gypsy Kings: 18 songs in 2/4, 7 songs in 4/4. Django Rheinhart (gypsy, not flamenco): 13 songs, all 4/4. Paco de Lucia: 8 in 3/4, 1 in 4/4, 4 in 3/8, 1 in 6/8. Sample YouTubes by signature: 2/4. Bamboleo, by Gypsy Kings. 3/4. Bulerias by Paco de Lucia. 4/4. Garrotin. ...

There is nothing wrong if a phrase goes beyond one bar. You would not change the time signature for that. Time signature is about the pulsation (and marginally the pace) of the music. But if you feel that a natural unit of what you hear is regularly out of bounds or with wrong accentuation according to its place in the bar, it could mean that the composer ...

Simple rule: Changing the bottom number of a time signature, and the tempo correspondingly, has no effect. As you say, 4/8 at 60 bpm is the same as 4/4 at 120 bpm. It's also the same as 4/2 at 240 bpm. Likewise 3/8 at 80 bpm is the same as 3/4 at 160 bpm, and so on. Changing to top number is a different story, as the other answers allude to. That ...

There is no clear and fast rule. The emphasis is entirely dependent on the rhythm of the tune. While there are some standard feels for different time signatures, they are broken as often as they are kept. In terms of standard feels, I'd say that all your examples are correct. It's important to note that 5/4 with accents on the 1 and 4 feels just like 3 + 2 ...

It is hard to generalize about music where there are odd time signatures or worse yet, frequently changing time signatures. Here are some suggestions that help me: When you are starting out, count every single fundamental beat, whether the eighth notes or the quarter notes, and be extremely aware of each "one" or the first beat of each measure. Always ...

There's no absolute rules as to when a composer should use one over the other - it often comes down to the tempo and feel of the music, but it is subjective. I've (for better or worse) seen Presto 3/4 pieces that go much faster than some 3/8 pieces. The big difference in terms of timing is that 3/8 is mainly used as a compound time, whereas 3/4 is most ...

Start by listening. Find the 5/4 and 7/8 classics such as Money by Pink Floyd, Take Five by Dave Brubeck and count along to them. Do this until it becomes easy and natural. Next, learn to play in those rhythms. Just practice the looping backing parts, simplified if necessary. This will get you past the problem of rushing beats, so you can try to apply ...

You can't. Your example could be 2/2, 2/4, 2/8, 4/2, 4/4, 4/8, etc.; there's nothing to indicate the time signature. Unless it's explicitly indicated you need to either be familiar with the song or make an educated guess. I'm not overly familiar with drum beats but I would guess that there are common time signatures used with accents on 7 and 13. While ...

Tab notation does not include any timing information -- the closest you get is bar lines, which at least helps you orientate yourself. Some books present tab alongside a traditional musical score, so you can get pitch, timing and phrasing from the stave, and choice of string/fret from the tab. The notes on the tabs are lined up with the notes on the stave. ...

Try and fully understand what rhythm you are working towards - and if necessary tap it out on a drum or something else so you can feel the beat. If you can describe it as 4/4 6/8 or standard structure then it should be straightforward. If you can't time it physically, you will have problems getting it into a DAW. Assuming you can do it audibly and make the ...

Time signatures are primarily for notational purposes. Beat, tempo, and meter all describe a certain thing about the music, but the time signature is just how that's codified when it's written down. As you know, Tempo is the frequency of the beat, and Beats are a kind of rhythmic emphasis that happens at regular intervals in most music. Meter is an ...

Things are getting way off-topic here (although it's a fascinating discussion). The initial question was: "What is the theory behind not playing in the usual 4/4 time"? Who says 4/4 time is "usual"? Most musical phrases and thus time signatures are ultimately based on dance rhythms. Surely you've heard of the waltz? it's in 3/4 time. The minuet is in 6/8 ...