Notation question

[Tears June]

4/4 = 4 beats in one bar/measure (include note & rest beat)
3/4 = 3 beats in one bar/measure
5/4 = 5 beats in one bar/measure


I understand the above thing.
But why always 4 on the Denominator ?
What is the Denominator meaning ?

:cry:

[gary]

But why always 4 on the Denominator ?
It isn't always 4, Tears; it's just that in much of western music the quarter note gets the beat in a measure and in most of the jazz, standard and pop music you probably see, the music is organized like that. It is perfectly possible to have 9/4, 2/2, 6/8, and many more complex organizations (16/12).

What is the Denominator meaning ?
Denominator (the note on the "bottom" of the time signature) is the note value that gets the basic beat. For example, in 12/8, the eighth note, the denominator, gets the basic beat, or pulse, and there are 12 of them in a measure.

By the way, even though the denominator gets, in principle, the beat, in practice they can go twice as fast. So, even though something can be notated 4/4, if it has the words "alle breve" or "cut time" it actually is performed twice as fast and one beat (pulse) actally gets two quarter notes. Many times 6/8 is performed, not as a bar of six pulses, but faster with two pulses to a bar. In this case, actually three eight notes (dotted quarter) get one beat.

[Wailin']

4/4 means that there are 4 quarter notes to the bar
3/4 means that there are 3 quarter notes to the bar
5/4 means that there are 5 quarter notes to the bar.

6/8 means that there are 6 eight notes to the bar.
The denominator merely tells the value of the note.

Eights are a bit shorter in duration than quarter notes.

[Lambik]

Does 16/12 exist :|

I used to think the denominator were powers of two (excl. 1).

Often 4/4 is written as C and 2/2 as C/ (with the / through the C).

[saxmangeoff]

Does 16/12 exist :|

Sure. (At least theoretically. Don't know if anyone actually ever written anything in 16/12. Besides, what's the notation for a twelfth note? :) )

I used to think the denominator were powers of two (excl. 1).

They almost always are. In fact, they're almost always 2, 4, or 8. But that is an artifact of how we divide rhythms in western music, not anything inherent about music or rhythm itself.

Geoff

[Harri Rautiainen]

Have some fun with time signatures:

9/4 Rondo a la Turk by Dave Brubeck (Our sax quartet is working on that right now.)

Alternating:

| 7/8 | 9/8 | 7/8 | 9/8 | ...
Balkan type of folk music. It's like 4/4, but the main beat is shifting in every second measure.

[gary]

Does 16/12 existLOL!! There's always some wacko duodecaphonic composer willing to try the unplayable just because it's theoretically possible.

I'm just trying to introduce to Tears June that there's a whole diverse world of rhythmic organizations out there other than base-four.

[Mel]

It should also be noted that the denominator of the time signature can do more than simply define the note value that gets one beat.

Sometimes, the type of music dictates the time signature used. For example, in minuets, 3/4 is most commonly used, and 3/8 occurs occasionally. 2/4 is commonly used for polka and marches, 6/8 for fast waltzes or marches, and the list goes on.

The time signature and the style of music can also serve as an indication of which notes to accent. (Ex. Waltzes are accented on the first beat of every three beats, while swing is accented on beats 2 and 4 of 4.) And when played at a higher tempo, time signatures can clue musicians into how notes should be grouped when fast notes are supposed to be tongued (ex. Whether a flutist should double tongue or tripple tongue.)

[Windswept]

Gary wrote wacko duodecaphonic composer

Don Ellis being one in mind, check out 'Electric Bath' or 'Live In 3 2/3 4 Time'.... not sure wacko is fair though.