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how do you find time signatures which does not match 3 , 4 ,5 , 7 counts,etc ?
For example , I know that the second song sung here is 6/8 . But what is the time signature of the first one ?
The second one is quite clearly 6/8 .. But I am missing the time signature of the first song ? Or do some songs have no time signatures ? Is it acceptable ?
Charles Ives dispenses with time signatures in his Concord Sonata (at least in the "Emerson" movement). The measure bars merely function as synchronization points; one can plainly see that the "measure" on the lower left stave has substantially more beats on the lower staff than on the upper (look at all those minims!), and also more beats than the subsequent measure.
Start counting at the first heavy beat, and keep counting till you reach the next heavy beat. It may not be apparent straight away, but when you think you have the magic number, count through the song. If it fits, you've most likely solved it. You may have to try with a slow and a fast count, as some time sigs are compound, like this one It could be a slow 4, or the 4 could be split on each beat to give 3 on each - triplets. In which case, it's 12/8. However, that could still be written as a 4/4 time sig., with a written note at the top of the music, saying crotchet = 3 quavers, usually with the note signs. Sorry, can't do that for you - no doubt someone else will!
Part of the intro might indicate that the first part is also 6/8. The tempo is not steady, so it is very difficult to know for sure. It is performed freely.
There's another problem which is that many pieces of music change their time signature often. Just because something starts in, say, 3/4 does not mean that it will stay in 3/4 for long. Also some pieces of music have different voices or instruments playing in different time signatures at the same time (which gives the conductor a problem). It's done so that the stresses on beats occur in different places in different parts.
You can't expect to be able to tell just by listening. For example it's not uncommon to find stretches of music in 6/8 where each bar has two dotted crotchets in it, in other words it will sound exactly the same as 2/4. But if it's written like that it'd probably be because in a few bars time some of those half bar dotted crotchets will become three quavers or a crotchet and a quaver as the rhythm begins to develop. It might be clearer what's going on seeing all of that in 6/8, even if you might thing the music should be written first in 2/4 then 6/8.
