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Rhys1995 wrote:Did not know it was possible.

A song in 21/4 would simply consist of 21 beats of one crotchet length each, followed by another 21 beats, and so on. I have to admit that I know of no songs in this time signature, and I can't find any either!

The first bar of Klavierstück IX by Karlheinz Stockhausen is in 142/8 time. Try to count that one out!

tubeguru wrote:

Going Underground wrote:When you have feasted on Supper's Ready try some Echoes from Floyd live at Pompeii

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGwPSPIhohk

Ah yes, Echoes has four different time signatures. The song uses 4/4, 6/8, 6/4 and 12/8. The "seagull/whale" section in the middle is, of course, in free time.

Exactly why I posted that particular song

Listen to "All You Need Is Love" by the Beatles and tell me which time signature you think the verses are in. And no cheating!

Having said that, there is a small instrumental bridge between the verse lyrics and chorus lyrics, which is in 4/4.

He's right you know; the lower number in the time signature needs to be a power of two - and preferably not 1. Here is a nice jazz number in 11/4:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ga4IBcQBFc

Starkey7 wrote:He's right you know; the lower number in the time signature needs to be a power of two - and preferably not 1. Here is a nice jazz number in 11/4:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ga4IBcQBFc

It sounds, and feels, to me that it should be in 22/8, given pace of the piece.

And E = mc2?

Einstein a go-go!

What music timing thingy is that in then eh?

Rhys1995 wrote:And E = mc2?

Einstein a go-go!

What music timing thingy is that in then eh?

Energy equals mass multiplied by the speed of light squared. In other words, energy always exhibits "relativistic mass" in whatever form the energy takes. The equation is at the heart of Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity. Look up the equation on Wikipedia for a full explanation. It will probably make your head explode. I always have trouble getting my head round the whole thing. One book you could read on the subject (which I HAVE read), is this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Why-Does-mc2-Sh ... 137&sr=8-1

On a related note, look at these two videos which explain time dilation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SchfetsZysM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9hqdjDu ... ure=relmfu

Rhys1995 wrote:What music timing thingy is that in then eh?

"Time signature" is the phrase you are looking for. It must be in relative time!

tubeguru wrote:Listen to "All You Need Is Love" by the Beatles and tell me which time signature you think the verses are in. And no cheating!

It sounds like a mixture of 7/x and 8/x to me. I don't know what x is, nor do I know how to work it out. The lower number of time signatures has always been very confusing to me. I get that 4 means a quarter-note (can't remember the proper name for it) and 8 means an eight-note, but surely, x/4 is the same as x/8 at a different tempo?

Root wrote:

tubeguru wrote:Listen to "All You Need Is Love" by the Beatles and tell me which time signature you think the verses are in. And no cheating!

It sounds like a mixture of 7/x and 8/x to me. I don't know what x is, nor do I know how to work it out. The lower number of time signatures has always been very confusing to me. I get that 4 means a quarter-note (can't remember the proper name for it) and 8 means an eight-note, but surely, x/4 is the same as x/8 at a different tempo?

A quarter note would be a crotchet, and an eighth note would be a quaver. If the bottom number was a 4, each beat in the bar would be a crotchet, and an 8 would indicate each beat to be a quaver.

I believe the general rule is that the higher the number the "faster" the music feels. But then it's all relative, because if I compose a piece of music in 4/4 and state at the start of it that it is to be played "presto", then it will sound "fast". I could then compose something in 12/16 and say that I want it played "adagio" (slowly), and it could end up being played at the same speed.

It's very subtle, so have a look at this to get an idea of which types of music use different time signatures:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_signature

All you need is love is 7/4 in the verses.

A personal favourite is 'Glass of water' by Coldplay, the song that first introduced me to odd time signatures.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-92XB8EU3E

What I really can't work out is (how to tell from listening) whether something is in 3/4 or 6/8. The grouping of 3 is obvious, but is it one group of 3 per bar or 2 groups of 3? I.e., is the beat i'm detecting a quaver or crotchet beat? Sometimes, at slow tempos etc, its obvious, but at others I just cant guess.

I am fully aware of the difference in subdivision of 3/4 and 6/8.

tractakid wrote:What I really can't work out is (how to tell from listening) whether something is in 3/4 or 6/8. The grouping of 3 is obvious, but is it one group of 3 per bar or 2 groups of 3? I.e., is the beat i'm detecting a quaver or crotchet beat? Sometimes, at slow tempos etc, its obvious, but at others I just cant guess.

This is to do with how the music is organised. I found a website which explains it thus:

Now you will wonder why can’t you just reduce 6/8 to 3/4? After all, they add up to the same amount. One reason you might pick one time signature versus the other is how the music is organized.6/8 is grouped into 2 groups of 3 eighth notes. 3/4 time would be grouped into 3 groups of 2 eighth notes. Depending on the structure of the bassline or song, it may make sense to group it one way instead of the other. So 6/8 feels more like two, while 3/4 feels more like three.

So 3/4 sounds like a traditional waltz, such as something Johann Strauss would have written back in the day.

Songs in 6/8 include "Nothing Else Matters" by Radiohead, "Subterranean Homesick Alien" by Radiohead and "Unchained Melody" by the Righteous Brothers. Listen to them and that will give you some idea of how 6/8 sounds compared to a "standard-sounding" 3/4.

tubeguru wrote:

tractakid wrote:What I really can't work out is (how to tell from listening) whether something is in 3/4 or 6/8. The grouping of 3 is obvious, but is it one group of 3 per bar or 2 groups of 3? I.e., is the beat i'm detecting a quaver or crotchet beat? Sometimes, at slow tempos etc, its obvious, but at others I just cant guess.

This is to do with how the music is organised. I found a website which explains it thus:

Now you will wonder why can’t you just reduce 6/8 to 3/4? After all, they add up to the same amount. One reason you might pick one time signature versus the other is how the music is organized.6/8 is grouped into 2 groups of 3 eighth notes. 3/4 time would be grouped into 3 groups of 2 eighth notes. Depending on the structure of the bassline or song, it may make sense to group it one way instead of the other. So 6/8 feels more like two, while 3/4 feels more like three.

So 3/4 sounds like a traditional waltz, such as something Johann Strauss would have written back in the day.

Songs in 6/8 include "Nothing Else Matters" by Radiohead, "Subterranean Homesick Alien" by Radiohead and "Unchained Melody" by the Righteous Brothers. Listen to them and that will give you some idea of how 6/8 sounds compared to a "standard-sounding" 3/4.

This is precisely the answer I was not looking for

As I stated in my post, I fully understand the subdivision of each time signature. What I was trying to say is that, basically, I struggle to differentiate between a quick 3/4 and a slow 6/8- as half of a 6/8 bar sounds like a quick 3/4.

And I then listed some songs you could listen to, in order to help your understanding in this matter.

There are other people reading this apart from you. I thought they might be interested too.