33
votes
Notes not adding up to time signature, with weird white oval note
The piece shown in the question is from the Punjabi psalter of 1908, which compiled the 150 psalms into a collection metrically appropriate for the Punjabi language. The complete collection can be ...
- 75.5k
19
votes
Is there a notation for borrowing a beat from the next measure?
If possible please avoid uncommon notation! It will often not be easier to read.
Maybe do something like this
This is more or less how Schumann does this in Mondnacht:
- 14.9k
18
votes
Is Queen's Killer Queen in 4/4, 12/8, or both?
A time signature is a notational choice, not a property of the music itself. It's improper to say that a song (referring to the finished audio product) is "in" a particular time signature. ...
- 22k
13
votes
Accepted
Why did Shostakovich use such long note values for such fast notes?
First of all you should note that this is notated alla breve, so comparing the time to quarters per minutes serves little purpose. Could this have been notated in 2/4? Yes, absolutely! Writing it like ...
- 14.9k
12
votes
Accepted
What is it called when a song starts sounding like the beat is in one place, but is actually somewhere else?
There is an idea called "turning the beat around", which involves establishing a sense of meter but then "revealing (or changing) the real meter" later on. This is not uncommon in ...
- 75.5k
12
votes
What is the meaning of the two added time signatures?
It's down to the rhythm within each bar.
A more obvious time signature would be 6/4. But 6/4 is compound time, and is generally understood to have two stong beats per bar, as:
ONE two three FOUR five ...
- 1,637
11
votes
Notation question: Adding half a beat to a bar?
Here's some possibilities.
If the note grouping is as clear as in my example, maybe the metric modulation is unnecessary in A.
D is acceptable in today's music. But you will find it a challenge to ...
- 87.1k
8
votes
Is there a notation for borrowing a beat from the next measure?
Simplest is to keep it in 4/4. The emphasis in bars of 4/4 is basically the 1st beat carries more. So, make the 2nd crotchet, 2nd bar, have an accent over it. You could also use phrase marks, if ...
- 186k
8
votes
Accepted
Is Queen's Killer Queen in 4/4, 12/8, or both?
The bottom line is it CAN be any of those things. It can be accurately written in 12/8 and also in 4/4 with an indication of swing (or shuffle) 8th notes throughout. While not traditional, this type ...
- 22.7k
7
votes
Accepted
Can't understand 16th notes connected by beams
The "3" below each group of three sixteenth notes is a triplet indicator. Rather than 4x6 16ths notes, consider that it's 8x3 16ths.
Each sixteenth-note triplet is the equivalent of one half ...
- 75.5k
7
votes
Can't understand 16th notes connected by beams
Under each three notes is a little '3'. It used to be, and sometimes still is, accompanied by a bracket. It means those three notes are a little faster than normal - they take up the same time as ...
- 186k
7
votes
Accepted
How should I read the timing on this measure of Rachmaninoff 32 10?
The time signature changes to 3/4 two measures before the one in question.
The left-hand part is in sextuplets per quarter note, and the left hand is in sextuplets per eighth note. Thus, there is a ...
- 75.5k
6
votes
What is the time signature of Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)?
Your question isn't really "what is the time signature" but how to add up the durations of note rhythm values.
The time signature of the example is 4/4 and so there will be 4 quarter notes ...
- 54.1k
6
votes
Accepted
Placing rest symbols according the convention of the time signature
The "convention of the time signature" is the definition of the time division unit, or "pulse", provided by the denominator of the time signature.
2/4 means the time division is ...
- 4,216
6
votes
Notation question: Adding half a beat to a bar?
In addition to other answers.
But what about tempo? I've indicated a metric tempo at the start of the piece—but in 4/4, each quarter note gets one beat, and in 9/8, each eighth note gets a beat. So ...
- 14.6k
6
votes
Best approach to count Seven Four Signature (7/4)?
I was tempted to start my answer by refuting "Seven four (7/4) simply means that each measure of music will include seven beats, with the quarter note receiving the beat". There are ...
- 87.1k
6
votes
Accepted
What is it called when the main melody is playing in a different time signature from the harmony?
When two parts are playing in different time signatures, it's called polymeter.
However, that isn't what's happening in this piece.
Both parts are in 4/4 time, but at the 0:50 mark, the accompaniment ...
- 75.5k
6
votes
Is there a notation for borrowing a beat from the next measure?
I'll list my main points in headline form before expanding them:
Meter does not always imply strong emphasis
The highest goal should be clear communication
There are no "rules," just ...
- 13.2k
6
votes
How should I read the timing on this measure of Rachmaninoff 32 10?
@Aaron beat me to the punch on this one (+1) but I will share this image I created that shows how the notes line up in the original image. You can see that the alignment is very good between the ...
- 22.7k
5
votes
Notation question: Adding half a beat to a bar?
Well, that depends. Time Signatures imply an inherent beat structure. 4/4 will have 4 beats of 1/4th notes. 9/8 as three beats each made up of 3 1/8th notes or one dotted 1/4th. Depending on what your ...
- 14.9k
5
votes
Best approach to count Seven Four Signature (7/4)?
It really does depend on the piece you're soloing on. Different septuple-meter pieces and sections often have different emphasis patterns. For example, Yanni's "Keys to Imagination" uses 4-3 ...
- 13.3k
5
votes
Accepted
Should I tie across beats 2 and 3 in 3/4?
Yes, this is totally fine, common practice and if fact using tied quarters for no real reason would be the more obscure choice here.
An important thing to keep in mind about 3/4 is that the ...
- 14.9k
5
votes
Rubato where there is no indication of rubato
In the case of Messiaen's works, there are usually recordings either by the composer himself, or by his wife Yvonne Loriod, her sister Jeanne Loriod, or by pupils and proteges (Pierre Boulez, Myung-...
- 51
5
votes
Is a syncopated rhythm in 4/4 time really 4/4 time?
For me, it's easier to read in just one time signature, i.e. 4/4, using accents for the accented notes (obviously!) That way, I don't have to keep changing my counting, keeping the basic 4 pulse going,...
- 186k
5
votes
Accepted
Problems with notation in 6/8 and dotted sixteenth
I suspect that there is a mistake with the figure in the footnote.
To fill the bar properly, there should be eight dotted 32nd notes (demisemiquavers), and the tuplet numeral should be removed. Like ...
- 11.3k
4
votes
Accepted
Rewriting a Rhythm in a New Time Signature - differences on music notation softwares
The tempo marking also has to change:
crotchet = 80 should become dotted-crotchet = 80.
Then it should sound identical.
In MuseScore you can find this symbol in the Tempo Palette.
Changing the note ...
- 11.3k
4
votes
Sheet music with no fractional time signature - how to read?
A lot of comments aren't addressing this, but if a piece actually has no time signature (not a C, because that would be 4/4, but actually no marking there) then that is called 'Free Time'. In free ...
- 41
4
votes
Drumming: Where do backbeats/snares go in 2/2 time
When there are 4 beats in the bar, 'Back Beat' is accenting 2 and 4.
It's a 4/4 thing. Or music that COULD be notated in 4/4. Asking where to put the back beat in a two-in-the bar time is like asking ...
- 87.1k
4
votes
Drumming: Where do backbeats/snares go in 2/2 time
The question has fallen into the traps of thinking that the drum beat and back beat are based on quarter notes and that the drum beat necessarily corresponds to the time signature.
What's "really&...
- 75.5k
4
votes
Best approach to count Seven Four Signature (7/4)?
Most multi-time signatures get split into 2s and 3s more than anything else. With 5/4, it's either 2+3, or 3+2 - nothing much else would do! The usual quoted examples are Mars and Take Five, but let's ...
- 186k
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