Something else of interest: Originally 3/4 was considered 'perfect' time by
the greeks, our musical forefathers in many ways ... they gave it a circle
as a time signature, and gave 4/4 a slightly broken circle, which we now
still use and call "common time"... (the slightly broken circle happens to
look like a C...)
-----Original Message-----
From: Thomas Lowes [mailto:thomas.lowes@worcester.oxford.ac.uk]
Sent: Wednesday, August 16, 2000 4:31 PM
To: idm@hyperreal.org
Subject: [idm] time signatures
quoted 6 lines Any time signature can sound like just about any other because there is>
> Any time signature can sound like just about any other because there is
> nothing that says you've got to put the kick drum sound on the first
> downbeat or any of the downbeats for that matter.
>
> If you superimpose nothing but quarter note triplets into a 4/4 pattern,
its
quoted 2 lines gonna sound like 3/4.> gonna sound like 3/4.
>
Yes - that is a better point to make. The thing is I think time signatures
needn't really apply to idm (nearly all is 4/4 really), but composers would
use
it to lay down the basic rhythm of a bar - so 6/8 would have two clear
beats,
split into triplets - once that is laid down as a basis, when duplets are
used
(ie 2 across 3) it doesn't sound like 4/4 necessarily, but more interesting
than
that and variety is added. In a different way, 2/4 would be used to write
marches, with a clear 'one-two-one-two' feel - not 'one-two-three-four'. If
anyone own's Plaid's 'Undoneson' - have a listen out because I think it is
one
of the few (idm) tracks I've heard that sound more 2/4 than 4/4.
To take the discussion (perhaps) to a different area - I find it interesting
how
difficult it is when making music to escape from the four bar (or multiples
of)
segments that western music seems to be so ingrained into.I mean loops in
particular - chord sequences, beats whatever, sound most natural when looped
in
multiples of 4, and new sections being brought in and out of the mix, and
the
music becomes predictable - you begin to expect something to happen every 4
bars
and if nothing changes then the groove just gets repetitive.
Hmmm. Cue comedy comments a-plenty...
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