Quote:
Originally Posted by Wolftopus  I'm not a beginner but I've never really took the time to understand how time signatures work. I'll play a riff in my band and they'll tell me it's in 11/8 or something and I have no idea what they are talking about. I know the way the numbers work (bottom is half/quarter/eigth notes, top is how many, correct?) but my problem is that I don't know how to count the notes or count the timing correctly. It's really embarrassing and I'm hoping to rectify this. I've been to a few sites but nothing has really given me a simple grasp on the subject. |
the time signature doesn't really give you any more info than what you've said above ('(bottom is half/quarter/eighth notes, top is how many')
11/8 for example, can be counted in loads of different ways (usually when you see it, it turns out to be a traditional bar of compound time (3 eight notes per beat) 12/8 with an eighth note chopped off the end... like the riff in 'Whipping Post' (3-3-3-2)
but the time signature doesn't indicate this... and it could conceivably be two groups of 3 eighth notes, followed by a group of 2 and then a group of 3 (3-3-2-3 = = better written as 5/8 then 6/8)... or it could be a standard 5/4 bar with an extra eighth note tacked onto the end... (2+2+2+2+3)
in other words... the time signature
doesn't tell you how to subdivide the bars... modern scores sometimes have things like 5+6 / 8, but it's rare to have so much help from a composer
on the score, usually the note beams are your best guide...
if the band tells you something is 11/8 you need to ask them how the bar is subdivided.. or just get them to play it while you get your head round it... it'll probably boil down to groups of 2's & 3's...
