IDM Mailing Archive

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... --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org