7/8 question

[Pacman]

Originally posted by Bruce Lindfield
I suppose what I am asking is - can you imagine a version in 7/8, if it didn't have the change in the middle and if it was just played on acoustic guitar? They did mention that Alan Parsons had a big musical input into a lot of Dark Side - I wondered if he had maybe 'tidied it up' in the studio?

Bruce, I could imagine a version in 7/8 that sounds exactly like the version we all know, but the eighths notes would be l-o-n-g! The way the pulse works is that the 4/4 section has 3 less beats per bar than the 7/4 section (duh!) - if it were 7/8 it would sound like it had one more beat.


Hard as hell to write about this, when a simple conversation would crystalize it.

 

[Microbass]

Originally posted by geshel
I'm not sure I understand the original example: two quarters and three triplets (are those quarter or eighth triplets? either way, doesn't matter) doesn't make 7/8. Two quarters and three eigths would be 7/8.

its two quarters an a triplet.. but I guess it's supposed to be 3 eigths. My bass teacher showed me how to do it perfectly today.

thanks all!

 

[Machaut]

"Money's" time signature reminds me of another song I know called "Cherokee" from the first Stephen Stills album.

Both are in 7/4.

I guess I look at it like this: If I was going to notate Money in such a way that EVERYONE reading it would know what I wanted I would write in quater note beats - thats what I hear - ONE two three four ONE two three.

http://www.totalbass.com/tabs/bass/p/pink_floyd/pink_floyd_-_money.html

It would go to fast in 7/8

 

[Jimbo]

got a question on the counting. would it be incorrect to place a strong beat on the last eighth note? i mean the counting would be 1 21 21 21

it would have a choppy feel.

-jimbo

 

[Machaut]

got a question on the counting. would it be incorrect to place a strong beat on the last eighth note? i mean the counting would be 1 21 21 21

Well it wouldn't be incorrect to do that if you wanted a choppy feel effect. It would only be incorrect if you were looking for a legato feel. For example, Stravinsky is fond of setting up a ryhthm pattern against the meter, just look at the Rite of Spring.

It all depends on what you want. The neat thing about writing music is that its all your call - you want to break a rule and you have a good reason to do so, then do it, its your ball game.

 

[Deleted member 5551]

I'm kind of surprised that no one has mentioned Unsquare Dance for a song in 7/8 so i will.
The only song that i've played so far that had 7/8 for more than 1 bar is Dave Brubeck's Unsquare Dance in this past year's marching band show. I intially had a hard time counting the 12 12 123 & instead counted it as a 1 2 3 & da and then it clicked into my head with the 12 12 123 just felt right.