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Questions tagged [time-signatures]

Numeric ratio indicating the subdivision of measures according to groups of beats.

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Play and write piano music

How would someone write a 3/4 bar correctly if it included a 2 and 1/2 beat (tied or as one note) and an 8th note.
Janae Janzen's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
79 views

LilyPond: Beam subdivisions lost when using compound time signatures and tuplets

I'm running into this issue, hopefully user error, with both the stable (2.24.4) and development (2.25.21) branches of LilyPond. In the first measure of music, I need the beam to be subdivided every ...
Richard's user avatar
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5 votes
3 answers
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How fast to play Rachmaninoff’s Études-Tableaux, Op. 33 No. 5 in G minor?

According to wikipedia moderato is around 108-120 BPM. Does the time signature of cut time (2 beats per bar) here mean that there should be 120 half notes per minute (240 quarter notes per minute ...
Håkon Hægland's user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
2k views

4/4 time change to 6/8 time

I have a classical piece that changes from 4/4 time to 6/8 time and indicates a quarter note in 4/4 time = a dotted quarter in 6/8 time. I have no idea what this means.
Daya's user avatar
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9 votes
3 answers
643 views

How would you read this time change with the given note equivalence?

Without the note equivalence I would just read the following as "play twice as fast". In this case though it seems like nothing changes from 3/4 to 3/8, since the beats are made to be equal. ...
Camilo Gallardo's user avatar
8 votes
5 answers
1k views

Is a sixteenth note quintuplet worth 4 sixteenth notes? If so, why is this wrong?

So, I'm doing a theory course, and there's this one problem where it asks you to find the time signature of this melody: According to the theory course, the correct answer would be 6/8 time. I ...
qi.uuu's user avatar
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3 votes
2 answers
380 views

6/8 or 2/4 with triplets?

Just a quick question. Can I use 2/4 with triplets instead of 6/8; will I get the same groove? I guess the only difference is that in the case of 2/4, my second down beat would be more accented than ...
user98606's user avatar
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8 votes
7 answers
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How to choose between 3/4 and 6/8 time?

I am currently transcribing a piece of music for piano, and I have the following passage in 3/4 time: I find that 3/4 time allows the half note in the RH to fall on the second beat, but the drawback ...
temporaryGreen's user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
1k views

Metronome markings and 3/8 time signature. How should I interpret the metronome markings if the time signature is 3/8?

I'm playing an exercise for snare drum that has time signature 3/8 and metronome marking ♪=76. As far as I understand, this means that every eighth note gets 1 beat and there are 3 beats in each bar. ...
Adeline's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
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What is the time signature in Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" [closed]

The song is very popular and has been notated countless times, in all possible ways. What note values and time signature should be used to notate the music? The main six note guitar pattern: seems to ...
user1079505's user avatar
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Confusion with identifying the bottom number of the time signature of a song by ear

I have some confusion about identifying the bottom number of the time signature by ear when listening to songs. I'll use two examples to illustrate my confusion, one in simple meter and one in ...
FastBallooningHead's user avatar
7 votes
7 answers
4k views

Why are there no notes called 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th, 10th, 11th etc?

I’m studying Time Signature and I understand that the top number indicates the amount of beats per measure and the bottom note indicates the note value of those beats. But it got me thinking about ...
Emotion's user avatar
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8 votes
6 answers
2k views

Confusion about time signature

Newb here. Learning time signature for the first time. Learning from online sources. I've learned that the top number in the time signature is the the number of beats in the measure and the bottom ...
FastBallooningHead's user avatar
0 votes
4 answers
135 views

I'm blanking on a word regarding rhythmic interpretation (making 4/4 sound like 3/4 and vice versa)

I know it's not polyrhythm or anything along poly-whatever lines (I could be wrong, but nothing's ringing a bell) and the only results I'm getting are either like that or not related to my question to ...
robbertvosfan's user avatar
5 votes
2 answers
113 views

How are dotted eighth-sixteenth note patterns counted in compound meter?

As someone who was taught to count compound meter like this: How would this system count the following patterns whilst still keeping the beat on the dotted quarter note?
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2 answers
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What does "gets the beat" mean?

When learning music theory, I keep hearing the terminology of, for example, a quarter note in a piece of music in 4/4 time "getting the beat". What exactly does this mean?
spacecowboy97's user avatar
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2 answers
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How many beats are there in this hymn?

I'm looking to understand how to identify beats. As I understand it, there should be four beats per measure in this hymn, as established by the time signature which says four half notes. In the first ...
Rafael X Villalobos's user avatar
3 votes
7 answers
292 views

Can 1 beat = 1 eighth note instead of 1 quarter note?

I'm learning basic music theory. I see that 1 beat = 1 quarter note, but I'm wondering if this rule is strict or can it be modified. Can 1 beat = 1 eighth note instead of 1 quarter note?
InTheSearchForKnowledge's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
132 views

Scheme function for time signatures in LilyPond

I would like to notate a piece proportionally in LilyPond in which different time signatures are layered polymetrically. To do this, I want to place the time signatures above the staves, or more ...
kleinlosen's user avatar
9 votes
5 answers
972 views

Inconsistent number of beats per measure

This perhaps just betrays my ignorance, but I don't understand why in the attached piece, in 3/4 time, certain bars, such as 10 and 12, have 6 instead of 3 quarter notes, with no change in the time ...
z8080's user avatar
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4 answers
214 views

If you write a song by doing the lyrics first isn’t that technically starting with time (rhythm) rather than with pitch? Is the term for it phrasing?

If you write a song by doing the lyrics first isn’t that technically starting with time (rhythm) rather than with pitch, and would the term for that be musical phrasing? E.g, if you write out a 4 ...
Lecifer's user avatar
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5 votes
2 answers
817 views

How to notate free time in MuseScore

Inspired by this question: Why does Musescore interpret Westergaard's A-flat as G? Seeking Clarification on Pitch Spelling Let's say I would like to notate some sequence of notes in MuseScore, ...
user1079505's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
311 views

Is a whole note always one bar long, regardless of the time signature? [duplicate]

I found conflicting information about this online. I am only familiar with 4/4, nothing else. So, I was wondering if a whole note always one bar long, regardless of the time signature? Or is it longer ...
MusicQuestions7's user avatar
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3 answers
691 views

What is this weird “e” time signature?

I'm looking at a piano arrangement of Right Behind You by Mike Morasky. The time signature looks like a weird “e”, what does this mean?
Henry Boy's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
2k views

Why is "Für Elise" written in 3/8 when there are a few bars in 2/16?

I am transcribing Für Elise in flat.io and I have noticed that these two bars do not add to 3/8, but instead 2/16 and 1/4 respectively. I am guessing they somehow complement each other and that maybe ...
blidt's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
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Is there an error in this measure? (beat count in Simplified Mendelssohn Op. 19 No. 1)

I got this arrangement for beginner piano solo from free-scores website. It has two voices. As you see the time signature is "C"=4/4. In Measure 27 bass clef, one voice is a whole C note, ...
GrandAdagio's user avatar
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0 votes
8 answers
310 views

is there a way to notate in a time signature a recurring triplet?

In The Beatles song “Ticket To Ride” the verses use a compound meter of 2/4 + ¼ note triplet. If put in a time signature would it look like this? 2 3 — + — 4 3 Is there a way to notate a triplet ...
Russel Mulock's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
385 views

Are the terms time and rhythm interchangeable?

I’ve been reading a few books that are titled as if rhythm is a term that is interchangeable with time. I.e, I would have personally titled them something like the study of time in music or elements ...
Lecifer's user avatar
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9 votes
4 answers
2k views

Were there any automatic timekeeping devices prior to the metronome used for setting and maintaining tempo (BPM) and pulse?

I know there's a decent amount of science that goes into creating a device that can set and maintain time, so this may be a very simple question with "no" being the answer, but I'm just ...
Lecifer's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
448 views

How to count when bass and treble clefs share notes or chords

I'm totally new to piano. I have a background in guitar, programming and some math, therefore I tend to think a little in an "exact number of boxes" fashion or "an array of numbers"...
geeheeb's user avatar
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4 votes
2 answers
309 views

Why does the tab below show 4/4 and not 16/16 when there are 1/16th notes, but the next section shows 9/16?

In the below screenshot, we can see that there are 1/16th notes written as 4 groups of 4 1/16th notes. What difference does it make if it is written as 16/16, does it change the feel of the song, or ...
Niranjan Dixit's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
790 views

Use 4/4 + 2/4 versus 6/4 time signature

I tried to understand and then transcribe the song "Halo on Fire" by Metallica (2016). I noticed there are two sections when the time signature changes from 4/4 to 6/5. I will use the ...
AcidMammoth's user avatar
1 vote
3 answers
110 views

Measure numbers in alternating time signature with dotted barlines

A piece has an alternating 7/8 and 8/8 pattern a la this answer's second example, notated as 7+8/8 with dotted barlines between. For the purpose of numbering, does the full 15-beat pattern count as ...
the-baby-is-you's user avatar
8 votes
3 answers
839 views

How do I decide if my piece should be expressed as 3/4, 6/4 or 3/2?

I'm still an amateur composer, but I've been wanting to explore time signatures outside of 4/4. The trouble is, I'm having issues figuring the actual time signature of what I've written. I was ...
Dr Ocelot's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
236 views

Calculate note timestamps

I'm trying to develop an application that reads data from guitar pro file and then for each note in there, it gives me timestamps (with some other useful infos for sure). However, it isn't trivial to ...
Sandro J's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
61 views

I am unsure of what time signature to use for my piece, as I'm pretty sure it changes mid-way through

Here is my piece so far, as you can see in green, the melody is highlighted. It starts on beat one, but I need a write the repeat in a clearer way so that it starts on beat one the second time it is ...
Fred's user avatar
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0 votes
3 answers
315 views

Tchaikovsky's sleeping beauty Op. 66 introduction measure 28

I was listening to the ballet sleeping beauty. In the beginning in the introduction, when there is a change of time signature. (measure 28) it felt like three beats. I looked up the score, and it ...
Nachmen's user avatar
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6 votes
1 answer
2k views

What is the correct rest grouping in 6/4 time?

From an ABRSM test paper (G5) The last rest is incorrect according to the answer. However to me it divides the dotted minim beat into 2+1 for compound time and appears correct. What is wrong with it ...
Ryan's user avatar
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11 votes
5 answers
2k views

How to write time signatures in emails and texts

Time Signatures I was always taught that a time signature should be written as a fraction without a line However, this is a bind, or even impossible, in emails, Word and texts, etc. So, I am ...
Richard's user avatar
  • 121
3 votes
2 answers
847 views

If I've put the notes correctly in the first piano roll image, why does it not sound correct?

I used this video to find the notes of ghost riders in the sky. Based on this image: I created this in Fl Studio: I used to resize all of them together, making them faster or slower. But it doesn't ...
dsa's user avatar
  • 57
6 votes
1 answer
166 views

Problems with notation in 6/8 and dotted sixteenth

I have been practicing with the Stick Control book by George Lawrence Stone. After a while it starts with the 6/8 time signature, but then I ran into some notation that I can't quite understand. If ...
David's user avatar
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1 vote
3 answers
392 views

Time signatures and music [closed]

My daughter has created a piece of music for her B-Tec music production class in which the time signature changes, but the tutor is trying to argue that this is not correct. Can someone please clarify ...
Helen's user avatar
  • 27
2 votes
0 answers
89 views

Hip-Hop Song Analysis [closed]

A friend and I are delving into some UK Hip-hop and have been listening to the much older songs and analyzing their style. I was wondering if anyone would want to help and provide their detailed input ...
Imani's user avatar
  • 21
2 votes
1 answer
153 views

What pickup time signature is this [closed]

How can you have an eighth note quadruplet and three eighth notes after. And how can you have a quadruplet with a dotted half note and two quarter notes?
Ian Miller's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
564 views

How should I read the timing on this measure of Rachmaninoff 32 10?

I'm working on Rachmaninoff's piano prelude Op 32 No 10, and I'm having trouble combining the left and right hand on m. 47 (screenshot below). Basically, I can't figure out which right hand notes line ...
temporary_user_name's user avatar
5 votes
5 answers
861 views

Is a syncopated rhythm in 4/4 time really 4/4 time?

I am working on this score (so far just cellos violas and bassses) which uses a changing rhythm but in modern music this could be notated in 4/4 time too with syncopation. In fact, the rhythm used is ...
user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
71 views

What's the practical differences between 4/4 and 4/8? (or 4/2, and so on) [duplicate]

I read a lot on the web about this topic, but the answer I got mainly is "depends on how composer will write the sheet music", and it seems a convention. What (in practical) will change? ...
markzzz's user avatar
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0 votes
3 answers
375 views

Is it correct to state that this is 2/3 time signature?

Basically, if this is 4/4 (i.e. 4 beats aka 1 bar, 4 clocks): and this is 1/4 (i.e. 1 beat aka 1/4 bar, 4 clocks): is it correct to state that this is 2/3? (i.e. 2 beats aka half bar, 3 clocks):
markzzz's user avatar
  • 210
0 votes
2 answers
338 views

time signatures in shuffle funk

I am struggling at understanding how is called the time signature in funk where the eighth note is divided in 3 and only the 1st and 3rd are played...sixteenth note triplets. In jazz it would be ...
Louis's user avatar
  • 101
2 votes
2 answers
252 views

Changing the time signature so all notes fit in one bar

I'm currently making sheet music for a song that isn't mine and I know it's in 4/4 but as the song progresses, there's no way I can fit all notes in that time signature, so I'm changing it to 6/4, 7/4,...
Joe Victor's user avatar

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