Music: Practice & Theory

Questions tagged [meter]

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The rhythmic organization of music into regularly recurring measures dictated by a time signature.

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8
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3answers
345 views

Fracanapa tango meter and how to write it

This is the first measure of the accordion part of Fracanapa, a Tango from Astor Piazzolla (you can easily find it on YouTube). In the first 19 measures the meter of the accordion part is 3,3,2 and ...
10
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6answers
990 views

How does the bottom number of the time signature affect counting?

I have learnt all the complicated mathematics subjects in my school, but that bottom number, I can't understand. Ok, the notation will be different, and it will say what kind of note gets the beat, ...
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0answers
50 views

Can someone tell me the meter of the verses, chorus, and bridge in “A Night in Tunisia” by Ella Fitzgerald [closed]

I have a project for my music class where I need to analyze a song and I am having trouble figuring out the meter of each section. Could someone help me out?
0
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0answers
52 views

Name for arranging triple-meter piece into quadruple meter

Is there a technical name for when a piece originally in triple meter is arranged into quadruple meter? (Usually this is done by doubling the first a beat.) For example, the quadruple-meter ...
14
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3answers
245 views

Just how specific is the term “hemiola”?

In Name and structure of staggering beat in Ramones' “Merry Christmas,” the rhythm in the second measure of the following example is described as a hemiola: But to me, these are just triplets and not ...
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4answers
582 views

Is 7/8 an example of measured rhythm or metrical rhythm?

Wikipedia provides the following definitions: Metrical rhythm, by far the most common class in Western music, is where each time value is a multiple or fraction of a fixed unit (beat, see paragraph ...
2
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1answer
60 views

Can irrational meters use any positive integer or only certain integers?

As I understand it, an irrational meter is when the bottom number on the time signature is not a power of 2, i.e. 1,2,4,8,16, 32, etc. An example irrational meter that I've seen is 5/24. According to ...
8
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3answers
582 views

Can beats in fractional meters be grouped? If so, are the groups integers or not?

I learned recently that time signatures can be fractional in the top number. For example, 2.5/4 meter. For normal time signatures, they have integer grouping structures. For example, 4/4 meter has a ...
3
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2answers
119 views

Can 15/8 meter be regrouped into 3 beats each with 5 eighth notes? If so, what kind of meter would this be?

Suppose I was in 15/8 meter, so compound quintuple meter. This would be a grouping of 3-3-3-3-3. But suppose instead I wanted to group my meter 5-5-5. This would not be simple or compound. I was under ...
4
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1answer
90 views

Is there any evidence that humans perceive meter using a metrical grid?

I have been perusing Ray Jackendoff and Fred Lerdahl's book A Generative Theory of Tonal Music. In this book, they propose some rules for meter and one of their assumptions is basically that musical ...
2
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1answer
58 views

Are the correct Takadimi syllables notated in these exercises?

Did I put write in the correct takadimi syllables for these two exercises? Some of the syllables I wasn’t sure. Exercise 350: And this one number 371:
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2answers
191 views

Counting 2+3 and 4 over a beat of 4 at the same time

I'm rearranging a piece of mine from 12/8 to 4/4. This works pretty fine for the harmony since those were arpeggiated chords, 4 groups of 3. But I notice the melody is rather complicated to transfer ...
4
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2answers
979 views

Why does “Modern Man” from “The Suburbs (2010)” have missing beats?

I used to feel "Modern Man" from "The Suburbs (2010)" by Arcade Fire had an interesting "beat skip effect". But now when I really count the beat, there are indeed missing ...
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3answers
104 views

Rewriting in Compound Meter

I am confused on how to rewrite a piece in compound meter. Here are a few examples I have which I need to change to compound meter. I think I need to just compound 2 measures together?
1
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1answer
57 views

3:2 polymeter in a single 6/4 time signature, which accent pattern would be which meter?

I've noticed that 6 allows me to have a 3:2 polymeter in a single time signature. I've thought of perhaps doing it for the Saturn movement of my Planets Suite, where some instruments have a 3/4 ...
8
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2answers
608 views

How to write a pickup measure with 5/16 duration in Lilypond?

I'm trying to write sheet music for a piece with a pickup measure of 5 sixteenth notes. Lilypond has the \partial command for this, but it only accepts a single duration. That duration may be dotted, ...
0
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3answers
206 views

What meter is it when the accented beat is the fourth beat out of six? (one-two-three-FOUR-five-six)

In this song when the drum comes in, the accented pulse is the 4th beat out of 6 in a measure. 6/8 has the accented beats on the 1st and 4th beat, but there is no accent on the 1st beat in this song. ...
2
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2answers
89 views

Is there a way to describe what beat patterns don't fit into any given complex meter? [closed]

This is mostly for a metronome project I'm working on, but it brings up a curious and intriguing question should any of you want to spend the time to think about it. I'm curious of procuring a ...
0
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1answer
71 views

What's the time signature for “Son of Flynn” and “Recognizer” in the TRON: Legacy Soundtrack by Daft Punk? [closed]

What's the time signature for "Son of Flynn" and "Recognizer" in the TRON: Legacy Soundtrack by Daft Punk? It seems to me that "Son of Flynn" is clearly in a mixed meter: ...
4
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3answers
413 views

Rhythmic/Metric Stress Patterns

The attached images are a page from Jack Perricone's Melody in Songwriting. I am familiar with the concept of stress patterns in music, but, honestly, have no idea what the hell he's on about here. ...
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2answers
138 views

Problem with Tempo in the Adagio from Violin Sonata No.1 in G minor, BWV 1001 from Bach

I'm starting to studying the Adagio from Violin Sonata No.1 in G minor, BWV 1001. Normally I have some rhythm problems, and in this case I don't feel the pulse, my teacher has told me to study with 16 ...
5
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3answers
356 views

What is the name of this notation in this example by Couperin?

Consider following excerpt from the beginning of the 2nd leçon of Couperin's Leçon des ténèbres pour le mercredi saint: As you see, it uses a rather strange notation where, for instance, a bar of 3/2 ...
3
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1answer
174 views

Why do notes not add up to the bar in this example by Couperin?

Consider following excerpt from the beginning of Couperin's Leçon des ténèbres pour le mercredi saint: I noticed that the note values don't always add up in a bar. Cases (indicated in the figure): ...
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3answers
165 views

How could you notate a measure where you have “cut-off” triplets? [closed]

So, let's say you have a measure of 3/4. Like the following: Then you have a triplet in the next measure, like this: How would I "cut off" the last quarter rest from that triplet? I was ...
5
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3answers
147 views

Fractional phrase length in Chopin's Nocturne Op. 62 No. 1

The main subject in Chopin's Nocturne Op. 9 No. 1 consists of two phrases that each begin with "B A# G# F# D#". However, they are not aligned relative to the barline, because it seems that ...
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2answers
54 views

How can I improve the agogic qualities of my midi playback?

In my quest for ever more realistic midi modelling, I keep coming up against questions and issues relating to the subtle rhythmic and tempo changes involved in good musical phrasing. After quite a ...
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1answer
78 views

Making a lead sheet to practise transcription - have a few queries

I'm fairly new to music and have been transcribing melodies in the name of ear training and becoming more fluent with standard notation. I'm presently creating a lead sheet for this song: ...
2
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6answers
243 views

Understanding Rhythm with Time Signatures

Trying to follow the rules, yes I am trying to learn my instrument, watching YouTube videos, and trying to learn from looking at sheet music... It seems I "learn" about something it feels like it ...
4
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2answers
144 views

Stressing the third beat more than the first in 4/4: is it syncopation?

The definitions of syncopation I've come across generally talk about stressing the offbeat (see, for example, Wikipedia) where "offbeat" sometimes refers to placing the accent in between beats (on the ...
30
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8answers
4k views

Aldous Huxley and 5/4 Meter in Music Predating “Take 5”

Background: "Take 5" by Paul Desmond (and famously recorded by the Dave Brubeck Quartet) is one of the more famous jazz standards out there, and one thing any analyst would point out ...
0
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2answers
1k views

How to understand the meter and pulse of lyrics in songwriting?

I've been learning many different concepts as a beginning songwriter and have been working on applying them in my work. However, I can't seem to full understand how to control lyric meter and lyric ...
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4answers
93 views

Did the music of the common practice period always end with a full measure?

If there are pieces which end with an incomplete measure, then what would be some examples? And is there a term for an incomplete measure at the end? Something that would be the opposite of anacrusis.
2
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3answers
176 views

What besides a fast tempo is causing this Measure - Beat equivalence?

I have noticed something with the scherzo from Beethoven's Ninth and particularly the beat. If I just listen to the scherzo and try to feel the beat, I feel an Allegro, say around 130 BPM at the ...
5
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3answers
394 views

Metric Modulation: Length of 'swing' notes

I just exported a Piano score from Sibelius with a swing feel: I wanted to edit the MIDI in my DAW and noticed, that the notes actually weren't in a triplet duration. The second note was always off ...
6
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5answers
2k views

Is 5/4 simple or compound?

I have seen 3 major ways of subdividing the quarter notes in 5/4. 1 is treating it as a simple meter and 2 others treat it as an irregular compound(or technically speaking, complex) meter. I have seen ...
9
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7answers
5k views

Why is 3/4 a simple meter while 6/8 is a compound meter?

These two meters sound very much alike to me and they can often be used interchangeably. For example: it's a trivial thing to change the meter of "An der schönen blaue Donau" from 3/4 to 6/8. ...
7
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1answer
116 views

What is meant by “quarter = half” when changing tempo?

What is meant by the following indications when changing tempo: " In 4 quarter = 126" and later "In 2 quarter = half"
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2answers
358 views

Counting in 8 rather than 4/4

Why do modern dance schools sometimes count in eighths, as in 5 6 7 8 ? My question is really whether they are translating 4/4 into 8/8? Can a time signature be written 8 /8 ? 1 2 3 4 ...
16
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4answers
3k views

How to notate time signature switching consistently every measure

It seems my musical journey's always pushing me into left field territory when it comes to notation ... So this time I'd like to know what would be a good way to notate a consistent switching of time ...
2
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1answer
125 views

What is the name of the practice of rhythm being written as series of 2's and 3's?

I remember some time ago learning about traditional Irish music and how a lot of the music wasn't written with our modern time signature structure, but was instead written as a series of 2 beat / 3 ...
1
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1answer
157 views

How to identify time signature from notation

I have a fair idea of the meters, and can identify from a time signature whether it is simple or compound, duple, triple, quadruple etc. However, I cannot figure out the reverse: the time signature ...
5
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4answers
320 views

How does an apparent 4/4 arise from 2 totally unrelated time signatures?

So I have been listening to Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition and I notice something that is unusual to me in his promenades. It has a 4/4 feel but it isn't written in 4/4 at all, instead it is ...
1
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1answer
3k views

Is dotted quarter note = 144 equivalent to quarter note = 96?

I have a piece to read that gives the tempo of dotted quarter = 144. Does that mean it's at a quarter note = 96? The piece has a time signature of 12/8, and I'm guessing each eighth note is played at ...
2
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1answer
861 views

Why are triple meter pop songs so rare?

Most popular music is in double, quadruple, and occasionally sextuple meter, but there are quite few pop songs in triple meter. My impressions is that songwriters write their songs in triple meter ...
2
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4answers
6k views

How to count polyrhythm 3 against 4 in common time?

Polyrhythm 4:3 in 3/4 meter can be "inverted" to 3:4 in 4/4 meter, like this... ...the notation is easy enough to write, because we can use tuplets to gloss over the division problem. Converting ...
3
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1answer
285 views

Is there really a 6/8 meter with jazz swing?

I recently started practicing jazz scales and rootless chords. I'm using very simple patterns: hit the chord, play up or down the scale with a swing rhythm. To give some musical context I'm playing in ...
6
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3answers
773 views

What is this old time signature (2 with a vertical line through it)?

On the fourth line of page 5 of the score of Fasch's Ouverture-Suite in F major, one reads a time signature that is the number 2 with a vertical line through it: What does it mean? I know some '...
4
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1answer
217 views

Regarding the beginning of Gould's B minor fugue, WTC 1, performance

I've listened to Gould's performance of this piece many times, sometimes following the score, and I've noticed that maybe Gould plays this piece wrong at the beginning. Unfortunately, I am unable to ...
0
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1answer
151 views

Problem with understanding differentiating meters and time signatures

I am currently trying to attempt to transcribe the fourth movement of scheherazade by Nikolai Korsakov-Rimsky and around bars 30+ there is a time signature change which says: 2/8(3/8 6/16). In the ...
13
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13answers
7k views

Is it hopeless in terms of becoming decent musicians, if they can't count beats?

My flesh-n-blood guitar teacher has tried to get me to count beats (verbally or at minimum in my mind), and I think that I've tried reasonably hard in doing so for few months now. However I've come to ...

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